Redemption
by ThisCatalyst'sPen
Summary: Takes place during the 2007 CGI movie. Leo finds out who the Night Watcher is in a completely different way... Can Leo save his brother in time? And more importantly, can he convince him that he's worth saving?
1. Chapter 1

-Redemption-

**Summary:** Takes place during the 2007 CGI movie. Leo finds out who the Night Watcher is in a completely different way...

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the turtles. *Images what it would be like if I did and grins evilly*

**A/n:** I know I'm starting another story when I'm already trying to work on like four others but, this was actually the first idea I had for a TMNT story. I just haven't tried writing it until now. When I was watching the movie, I was wondering what would happen if Leo didn't find out during the fight that Raph was the Night Watcher. So then I thought, maybe he could find out a different way, and poof, this idea was born. Also I wanted to see what the other turtles reactions would be to finding out that Raphael is the Night Watcher, it's not shown in the movie :(

**Warnings for swearing and blood. **

* * *

This wasn't supposed to happen. Things weren't meant to get this bad. It was supposed to be just a regular night, patrolling the town from the rooftops, bustin' up a few thugs, maybe savin' a person or two, but not this. How did things change so quickly? How did things change from me chasin' a couple of goons to them chasin' me? How did I become the one who is being chased instead of the one _doing _the chasin'? All I know is that, if I don't think of something soon, and I mean _real _soon, then I'm goin' to be in some serious trouble.

* * *

It's been a week since Leo got back from his precious jungle, and already I feel like I'm suffocating again. We've been forbidden to fight until we 'stop fighting each other.' Leo's been on my shell for days now, reprimanding me for the smallest thing, playin' up the leader role and bein' a general pain in my shell. I feel like the walls are closing in on me. I can't breathe down here, can't think properly. I'm suffocating and need to get out before I go stir crazy. But it seems that my dear old brother has other plans.

"And where do you think you're going?" Leo asks, folding his arms across his chest.

"Out," I growl, not bothering to turn around and look at him. I can feel his stare burning a hole through my shell. He's definitely cranky. Good.

"No," Leo says firmly, jaw set. "Master Splinter said we're not allowed to go to the surface."

I turn around and face Leo slowly, feeling my body begin to shake with barely suppressed anger. "He said we're not allowed ta' fight," I growl lowly. "He said nothin' 'bout not bein' allowed ta go topside."

Leo gave me a measured look, unfolding his arms slowly and letting them rest limply by his sides. "Going topside is a bad idea," Leo said evenly, fixing his golden eyes on me. "Especially when you're in one of your brazen moods.' We don't need any unwanted attention."

I took a slow, threatening step towards Leo, pointing at him angrily, "you can't come back here after a year and expect us to fall in line again, like your little soldiers Leo."

"If you have something you want to get off your shell Raph, I'm all ears," Leo said, frowning at me through narrowed eyes.

"Oh I have a lot I want ta' say ta' ya'," I growled. "But right now, I'm goin' out."

"What part of 'no' do you not understand?" Leo said sharply, moving forward and grabbing my wrist, pulling me back to him.

"Let me go Leo," I snarled, jerking my wrist free. "I'm goin' out and you ain't gonna stop me."

"Wanna bet?" Leo growled.

"If ya' want ta' fight me big brother, bring it on," I said, hands twitching for the sais in my belt.

"I'm not going to fight you Raph," Leo said, taking a deep breath. I could tell he was starting to lose it, and was trying to reign in his temper before it got out of hand.

"If ya' not tryin' ta' fight me, then leave me alone," I growled, turning my back on him and making my way towards the exit.

"Why do you have to be so difficult all the time?" Leo called after me, his voice quivering with his anger.

I stopped and turned back around to face him, eyes flaring with anger. "Why can't ya' just leave me alone once in a while?" I shot back. "Ever since ya' got back ya've been goin' on and on about you, about how sorry _you _are for not returning sooner. How _you're_ a much better leader now. I swear ta' God Leo I can't breathe with you yelling at me every God damn hour of the day!"

"I'm not yelling at you," Leo narrowed his eyes. "I'm trying to figure you out Raph. Your rogue attitude is doing nothing for your training or your family."

"What are ya' sayin'?" I asked lowly, feeling a low rumble revibrate through my chest.

"I'm saying that your constant anger and disregard for following my orders almost had us killed when we fought that monster on the roof the other night."

I moved so fast I don't think Leo even saw me. One moment I was by the door, the next I was centimetres from his face, eyes narrowed angrily at him and burning with Hell's fire. "You think I would purposely endanger my family? What the fuck is wrong with you? I would _never _hurt this family Leo, do you understand me?"

"Of course you wouldn't, not intentionally anyway," Leo said, straightening up and sending me a measured look. "But from what I saw last night, your anger could have gotten one of us seriously hurt."

"Fuck you," I growled, feeling anger and pain at Leo's harsh words. "You listen ta' me Leo; I would never hurt this family. Never. You on the other hand, wouldn't think twice about doing it again."

Leo narrowed his eyes at me and stepped forward. "When did I ever hurt this family Raph?"

"When you left!" I yelled, feeling my anger bubbling up to the surface. "When you left and didn't come back! That's when you hurt this family. And I'd be damned if I let you do that to our brothers again."

"You know why I left," Leo said, fighting to keep his voice under control. "I did it to-"

"I know," I cut in. "To become a better leader. Well guess what Fearless, ya' failed."

"Raphael get back here!" Leo yelled after me as I ran towards the exit.

"No!" I yelled, stopping briefly to turn around and fix Leo with a cold stare. "I'm done with you. I'm done with all of you!" I yelled louder, knowing that the others had been listening to us fight from the kitchen.

With that I whipped around and disappeared through the door, slamming it behind me. I needed air. Had to get air now. Chocking. Smothering. Can't breathe...Can't breathe...

* * *

The crisp night air, usually so calming, was doing nothing to help dampen my sour mood. I bit my lip to fight off the scream that I so desperately wanted to let lose, but I couldn't. Instead, I forced my legs to go harder, faster, across the roof, jumping and twisting my body over the gap in-between buildings. I don't know how far I've run. I don't care. I've got to much energy, too much anger still inside of me. I have to get rid of it. I have to find my release.

It's hard to run with my Night Watcher gear on. The metal adds more weight to my body, and the helmet gives me limited vision, but I don't care. I feel safe when I'm encased within the metal. No one can see me. No one knows who I am or what I am. They can't see all the weakness that's raging underneath, all the anger and hurt and hate.

I guess I've always been what you might call a maverick, an independent person. A lone wolf. But that's just who I am.

Breathing heavily, I circle back to where I left my bike, hidden behind a dumpster in a dark alley.

I'm about to drop down into the alley when a faint noise stops me. Crouching low on the roof, I peer into the darkness, searching for the source of the noise. Uh huh.

"If ya' know what's good for ya' you'll stay down!" A man yelled, gun cocked in his hand, a sack of money in the other.

I grinned behind the helmet. This was exactly what I needed; a good chase and a chance to punch someone. Dropping into the alley, I pulled my bike out from behind the dumpster, turning it on and revving the motor loudly to get the guy's attention.

He turned towards the sound of my bike and gripped the money closer to his chest upon seeing me.

"Hasn't anyone told ya' it's not nice ta' steal?" I asked, ready to touch the accelerator when the guy made to escape.

"Night Watcher," the man sneered, gun still clenched tightly in his hand.

"Oh, heard of me have ya'?" I smiled. "I'm flattered, really."

"Well, come and get me then," the guy smirked, before turning on his heel and racing across the road, dodging oncoming traffic in his haste.

"All right, let's party," I muttered, revving the bike and punching the accelerator.

I don't know if I was in a calmer mood I might have seen the warning signs going off in my head like flashing lights. The first one being the guy actually said out loud who I was. Not a lot of thugs did that, they just ran. They usually also looked scared. This guy didn't. He looked smug and...happy. To happy. And that taunting sneer...it wasn't right. But, at the moment, I wasn't worried about these small details. My anger was clouding my judgment. All I wanted to do was chase this guy down and teach him a thing or two.

So that's exactly what I did.

Tearing out of the alley way, I reared my bike up on its back wheel and gave chase, cutting across traffic and swerving to avoid a head-on collision. The thug tripped over his own feet in his haste, but regained his footing and turned into another dark alley, bag of money still clutched protectively to his chest. Realizing that the guy had come to a dead end, I smirked and followed him, my bike roaring in the night and my headlights cutting a path through the darkness.

I stopped at the mouth of the alley, letting my bike idle silently. That's when I felt the pang in my gut, that feeling you get when you know something is wrong.

The guy I had been chasing had disappeared. In his place sat a large black truck, headlights on low and engine purring softly. I squinted and was able to make out the five shadowy figures inside the car.

I growled lowly in my throat. These people, whoever they were, meant trouble, I was sure of it. My suspicions were confirmed when I saw a large hairy arm emerge from the open window of the front seat, gun in hand.

My senses went into overdrive as my instincts took over. Revving the bike, I quickly spun around on the back wheel and high tailed it out of there. The truck was surprisingly agile, as it careened out of the alley after me, hot in pursuit. I growled and punched it, swerving through traffic in hopes to lose the truck.

But, turtle luck was running true to form, and the traffic was starting to thin out. I growled even lower when I realized the only way for me to go was forward. There weren't any side roads or alley ways this far up ahead, which meant they were chasing me out onto the State Highway.

As soon as I was free from the rest of the traffic, I accelerated my bike, punching it as hard and fast as it would go. The air ripped past me with such force from the speed that I had to grip the handle bars tighter. I sure as hell was glad I was wearing my suit; otherwise I was certain that my skin would have been ripped off.

I glanced a quick look over my shoulder and my heart sank to my gut. Whoever owned the truck had obviously rigged up the engine with illegal parts, because there was no way in shell that it should be able to be going this fast, but it was. The sleek black body of the truck blended in with the dark surroundings as the road grew curvy with more hills, the city being replaced by open space and rolling hills.

Glancing down, I realized with shock that I was almost out of fuel. I was so screwed.

Suddenly I was blinded by an overly bright light. I brought my arm up to shield my eyes, realizing that whoever was chasing me must have put their high beam lights on. It was dirty but effective. I couldn't see a thing in front of me or behind me.

Glancing over my shoulder again, I squinted into the bright light, just being able to make out a shadowy figure. That's when my blood froze and my heart stopped beating. Because I could just make out the haze of one of the thugs leaning out the window, gun loaded and pointing right at me.

* * *

I heard the gun fire and braced myself for the searing pain I knew was to come. But it didn't. It was like everything was happening in slow motion, though I realized that it happened in less than twenty seconds.

I heard the front tire _pop_ and realized that the bullet had hit my tire, puncturing the thick rubber. I didn't have time to think after that as my bike wobbled beneath me before giving way entirely. I was flipped over the handle bars, air born for all of three seconds, before crashing into the unforgiving ground. Instinctively, I shot my arm forward to catch myself. There was a sickening sound as all of my weight landed on my arm, before my head came into contact with the road. The force of the impact slammed my helmet free and sent it flying in the other direction. The impact caused me to roll several times, flipping and hitting the ground repeatedly at an alarming speed.

I hit the ground again, this time landing awkwardly on my leg, before I skidded fifty metres across the asphalt until I hit the safety rail. I had a moment of clarity before my bike slammed into me, pinning me to the guard rail. I heard cheers coming from the car that had been chasing me, as it sped past and disappeared into the darkness.

I managed to lift my head from the ground and open my eyes. A wave of nausea hit me and made me groan and close my eyes. I was breathing heavily and my whole body ached. I felt something wet drip down my face and knew I only had moments before the adrenaline that was coursing through my veins would disappear and the pain of my injuries would hit full force.

I screwed my eyes shut tightly and focused on my breathing. God it hurt to breathe. I was content to just lie here for the rest of the night. My body protested loudly against moving any part of it. Maybe I could just stay here and wait the pain out.

About to let unconsciousness claim me, I closed my eyes and welcomed the enveloping darkness. Suddenly a sound in the distance made my eyes snap open. The approaching sound of wailing sirens grew louder and louder and I knew that a police and ambulance squadron would be here any minute. Obviously someone had seen that I was being chased down by a truck whilst I had fled the city.

"Fuck," I breathed. I couldn't stay here. I was sure a news van would show up with the cops and ambulance. I couldn't let them find me. I could only imagine what would happen when they realized that the Night Watcher was really a giant, mutant turtle.

Gritting my teeth in pain, I shifted under the weight of the bike, biting my lip to stop the strangled cry of pain that wanted to escape my lips. Feeling sweat trickle down my brow, I closed my eyes tightly and moved my good arm up, pushing my beloved bike off me.

I couldn't stop the scream that left my lips as the bike shifted over my pinned leg. Pain flared to life all over my body, making me whimper pathetically. Damn, why did it hurt so much to move? I just wanted to lay here and sleep, to forget about the burning pain in my body. But the wailing of the sirens growing louder spurred me on, giving me another boost of adrenaline.

I don't know how I did it, but I managed to get free from my bike and stumble to my feet. My right leg was numb and limp, as was my right arm. Supporting myself on my left leg, I managed to stumble along the guard rail, looking for a means of escape. The decision was made for me when I tripped and stumbled over the guard rail. Hitting the ground on the other side, I rolled down the steep embankment, screaming in pain every time my body hit the ground, until I came to a stop at the bottom.

Seeing the flashes of red and blue lights above me, I reigned in the last of my strength to crawl over to the thick underbrush and tall trees. Crawling into the thick foliage, I kept going until I was completely hidden from the highway above me, before blackness crawled across my eyes and I fell to the ground. The last thing I thought of was what Leo was going to say when he found out what had happened. But then I realized he didn't know anything. He didn't know I was the Night Watcher. Not being able to come up with the energy to care, I let my eyes close as I fell into the waiting darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

-Redemption-

**Summary:** Takes place during the 2007 CGI movie. Leo finds out who the Night Watcher is in a completely different way...

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the turtles. *Imagines what it would be like if I did and grins evilly*

**A/n: **Thanks for the positive feedback on the first chapter, glad to hear you guys are liking this and finding it to be an interesting read. Sadly this chapter isn't as long as the first one, but I think it leaves off at a pretty good point…  
Anyway, the next chapter will hopefully be longer ;)

**Warnings for swearing and blood.**

* * *

Casey looked up from where he was reading the newspaper on the couch, sighing and slapping the paper in exasperation.

"At least _someone _cares about justice these days," he muttered, looking down at the various black and white pictures of the Night Watcher that graced the papers. "Don't ya' think babe?" Casey asked, looking up at his red-headed girlfriend who was busy doing katas in front of the small television with her bright red practise sword.

"What? Casey I'm trying to practise," April said, stopping momentarily from swinging her sword in a wide arc, strands of hair that had come loose from her bun falling across her face. "What were you saying?"

"Nothing. Go back to practising babe," Casey sighed, turning his attention back towards his paper.

He was itching to get out to the roof tops and bust up some heads, God knew he needed to get some fresh air. He felt like he was suffocating in this apartment. But…it just wasn't the same without Raph, and he hadn't shown himself for almost three days now, and that wasn't like Raph at all. Usually they went out every night together, busting up gangs and criminals before having a few beers out on the rooftops.

"_We interrupt this news broadcast with a special news bulletin. Is this the end of the mysterious vigilante known as the Night Watcher?"_

"What?" Casey shot up, newspaper forgotten. "Turn it up!"

April stopped her practise, panting heavily as she picked up the TV remote and turned up the volume.

"_A call came in from an anonymous citizen little over an hour ago, witness to what appeared to be a car chase between the Night Watcher and an unknown assailant. The witness didn't get a good look at the people in the car, but there was no mistaking the Night Watcher on his bike, being pursued by a mysterious black ute. Twenty minutes later a local news van arrived just ten miles from the city limits upon the scene of an accident. There was evidence of scraps of metal strewn across the road, looking to be parts from the Night Watcher's bike. One hundred metres further down the road was the Night Watcher's bike, leaning against the side guard rail. The Night Watcher's helmet was also found a few metres away from the bike. There was, and still is, no sign of the Night Watcher. Police have found evidence of a bullet hole in the front tire of the Night Watcher's bike, and have assumed that with the force of the impact, that the Night Watcher may have been flipped over the side of the guard rail. Police have sent out crews to search the surrounding area. We will update as soon as we hear more."_

"That's horrible," April murmured, shaking her head as she switched the news off. "Isn't it Casey?"

April turned to face her boyfriend when she didn't get an answer. Instead, she turned to see Casey leaning forward on the couch, his body rigid and his face pale, his head resting in his hands.

"No, no, no, no," Casey murmured to himself in a soft mantra, rocking slowly back and forth, his eyes clouded with an unreadable emotion. "Damn it, damn it, damn it!"

"Casey! Casey what's wrong?" April asked, concern flooding through her as she moved forward to crouch beside him.

Casey shot to his face, pacing back and forth in front of the couch restlessly, glancing over at the open window every few seconds, as if expecting someone to come through it at any moment.

"Casey, baby what's happened?" April asked, gently grabbing his arm and turning him to face her in concern.

"It's Raph," Casey choked, his voice shaking and his deep blue eyes wide and filled with fear. "It's Raphael. The Night Watcher is Raphael."

* * *

"Oh man," Mikey whispered, leaning back on the couch, "that has gotta hurt man."

"What?" Don asked, looking up from his laptop to where his youngest brother was currently sitting watching the news.

"Dude it just said that there was this big crash," Mikey said, wide eyed as he looked over the top of the couch at his brother. "The Night Watcher was chased down by this mysterious ute. Cops say they shot out his front tire. Say he skidded like a hundred metres down the road before he hit the guard rail."

Donatello looked up at the pictures they were showing on the news of the crash site and winced.

"Now the cops can't find him," Michelangelo continued, eyes traveling back to rest on the pictures being displayed on the TV. "Man I feel sorry for the guy. I mean the Night Watcher _is _a good guy after all."

"I know you may respect him Mikey but-"

"Of course I respect him," Mikey interrupted, his eyes flashing briefly with anger and hurt. "He…he's kind of my idol," Mikey confessed in a whisper. "I mean he's there to pick up the slack that we left. He didn't have to go out every night and save the city but he did. And he doesn't even take the credit. He's like us; he vanishes before anyone can see who's really under all that gear."

"Well I hate to say it Mikey," Don said gently, not wanting to upset the youngest turtle further, "but…I can't see how he could have survived that, protective gear or not."

"Yeah," Mikey whispered, downcast and despondent. "I just hope it wasn't too painful for the guy."

"Too painful for who?" Leo asked, stretching as he entered the room from the dojo.

"The Night Watcher," Don explained, gesturing to the pictures still displayed on the TV. "They can't find the body."

Leo only nodded in acknowledgment. "I may not have liked the guy," he said, sitting down next to Mikey, "but…this just seems…cruel. Even for a vigilante show-boat."

"Hey, he is not a vigilante show-boat," Mikey snapped, glaring at Leo angrily. "He was a good guy Leo. He only wanted to help the people of this city, which is what we stopped doing, just FYI. Besides, he might still be alive. There's no body to prove that he's not."

"Take it easy Mikey, I'm not saying he's dead," Leo shared a quick look with Don but didn't say anything more. "And I know he was…_is…_a good guy. I'm just saying I don't…view him the way you do, that's all Mikey."

"Well good," Mikey huffed, slumping against the back of the couch in defeat.

Donatello looked away from his brothers just as the phone rang. "I'll get it," Don sighed, stretching his cramped legs as he ambled over to the phone.

"Cowabunga Carl, here to caterer all your birthday needs. Oh hi April-whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down April. What about Raph?" Don frowned through the garbed words on the other side.

At the sound of their brother's name, both Leo and Mikey turned their attention to Don. Leo got slowly to his feet, his brows furred as he got the feeling deep inside his gut that something wasn't right. Mikey peered over the back of the couch, blue eyes confused and worried.

Donnie opened his mouth and closed it again, a strangled sob breaking free. Dropping the phone he backed away from it like it was a giant poisonous arachnid, his face pale and his whole body shaking with barely suppressed shivers.

"Don?" Leo asked cautiously, the feeling in his gut growing stronger to the point where it felt like a whole flock of butterflies were flying around in his stomach. "Donnie what's wrong? What did April say?"

"It's him," Don whispered, his voice sounding as if it hadn't been used for weeks. "It's him."

"Who? What are you talking about Donnie?" Leo demanded, impatience making him snap at his younger brother.

Don pointed weakly to the TV, his finger shaking. "It's Raph. He…he's the Night Watcher."


	3. Chapter 3

-Redemption-

**Summary:** Takes place during the 2007 CGI movie. Leo finds out who the Night Watcher is in a completely different way...

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the turtles. *Images what it would be like if I did and grins evilly*

**A/n:** Here's the next chapter guys. Hope it's not awful; I'm swamped with assignments at the moment :(

**Warnings for swearing and blood. **

* * *

April paced restlessly around the small apartment, face pale and hands gripping her practise sword in fear and worry.

"How long have you known?" She whispered, turning to face her boyfriend.

Casey shrugged. "I don't know, maybe one, two weeks tops."

"And you never bothered to tell me?" April demanded, narrowing her emerald eyes at Casey.

"Hey it wasn't my secret to tell," Casey defended. "Raph didn't even want me to know."

"Then how did you find out it was him then?" April asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"I was out patrolling one night, ran into him. After that it wasn't hard to tell who was under all that metal."

April shook her head sadly, her eyes shining with brimming tears. "I don't understand why he didn't tell anyone. I don't understand why he did this in the first place."

"He wanted to get away," Casey murmured softly. "Well at least I think he did. Think about it April, Raph isn't the kind of guy who just sits around doing nothing."

"He could have gotten a job, like the others," April whispered.

Casey shook his head. "As what? A night time patrol man? Face it April, fighting and bustin' up bad guys is in Raph's blood, and Leo leaving won't change that. Being the Night Watcher allowed him to do what he does best, whilst still staying in the shadows but giving him enough cover to step out into the night with."

"I still can't believe..."

"Don't say it," Casey said, his own eyes brimming with barely contained tears. "I know Raph, he's strong, stronger than anyone else I know. He ain't dead April. We're going to find him."

"I know we are Casey," April said soothingly. "I promise we will."

"Then what are we doing just sitting around here for?" Casey demanding, hockey mask already over his face. "We should be out there lookin' for him now, before the patrol groups find him."

"They won't find him before we do," April assured him. "As soon as the boys get here we'll go." Seeing the concerned look in his eyes for his friend, April gently gripped his arm and forced him to turn around and face her.

"We _will _find him Casey," she whispered. "Together. We'll bring him home."

* * *

Everything hurt. Every small movement, every breath he took, sent shockwaves of pain radiating through his body.

Raphael groaned and tried to shift into a more comfortable position, but stopped when a sharp pain filled his side. Clutching his ribs, Raphael bit his lip to stop the scream that threatened to break free.

He had managed to pull his gloves off, but the rest of the metal gear on his body was too painful for him to remove. He had managed to drag himself over into a thick cover of bushes, hidden from the highway and concealed in the long shadows of the late hour.

Raphael slowly moved his hand towards his pocket, trying to find his shell-cell before realizing that he had left it back in the lair. Grounding his teeth in frustration, Raphael leaned his head back, resting it against the rough bark of an old oak tree.

He felt like he was going to pass out at any minute. Black dots creeped in from the edges of his vision and his whole body felt like led. A voice in his head whispered for him to close his eyes that if he did that all his pain would go away. Raphael wanted so desperately to listen to the voice, to just let go and slip into the comforting darkness that would make his pain go away, but he knew he had to stay alert. He knew that when the police found no body next to his bike they would send out search teams. It wouldn't be long before someone found him, and he had to be ready to move further into the forest when the inevitable occurred.

Raphael took this moment of solitude to asses himself for injuries. He knew his right arm and leg were definitely broken, and hung limp and lifelessly beside him. He could feel the cut on the side of his face, which was now covered in dry blood. At least it wasn't bleeding anymore. He was also certain he had a dislocated shoulder and knee, and if his harsh breathing was anything to go by, some broken ribs.

"Damn it," Raphael cursed silently, feeling the taste of blood in his mouth. Not to mention the serious road rash he had running up his right side from sliding across the road. Parts of his costume was bent out of shape and dented from the impact. It would take a lot to fix this, and even longer to fix his bike, his beloved bike.

God Raphael loved that bike. He loved the feel of it purring beneath him, nothing but energy. He loved the feeling of going fast, of racing off into the night, him and him alone. When he was on his bike he felt so free, so unchained from the rest of the world. It was his one true means of escaping his life and all within it, even if it was just for a couple of hours. Now, his bike, his lifeline, was destroyed.

"Damn it!" Raphael cursed again, groaning at the pain that exploded in his ribs.

Momentary panic consumed Raph. No one knew he was the Night Watcher. Well, except for Casey, but surely Casey didn't watch the news. He wouldn't know what had happened.

Raphael heard the voice in his head again, louder this time, coaxing him towards blissful sleep. Raph tried to fight off the voice, tried to shut it out. But he realized he was winning a losing battle.

_How easy,_ he thought to himself, _it would be to just let go, to let the darkness take this pain away._

Raphael jerked awake when he realized he had been dozing off. A sinking feeling settled in his gut as he realized that no one was coming for him. This was a battle he had to fight for himself.

He just didn't know if he could do it.

* * *

_Leonardo's POV_

"What...what do you mean Raphael's the Night Watcher?" I asked slowly, unable to process Donnie's words properly. It was like my brain had completely shut down.

Don made a frustrated gesture with his hands. "I...Casey said that Raphael's the Night Watcher. That...that it was _him _that was in that accident..."

"No!" Mikey wailed, tears shining in his beautiful blue eyes. "No it can't be!"

"Don what else did April say?" I demanded, trying to shove my grief aside.

"Not a lot," Donatello whispered. "She...she just said that Casey knew Raph was the Night Watcher."

"Donnie," I said quietly, dragging him a few feet away from Mikey so he wouldn't hear. "Is there even the slightest chance that...that the crash wasn't fatal?"

Donnie gulped and looked back towards the TV, his own brown eyes shining with tears. "I...I doubt it," he whispered and I felt a pang in my gut. "I mean...there is a small chance but...I seriously doubt it Leo."

"Well even a little chance is still a chance," I said, fighting away my panic and forcing my tears away. "We're going to find him."

"But Leo, there will be search patrols all over the place," Don whispered.

"We're ninjas," I said. "We won't be seen."

"Are we going to go find Raphie?" Mikey spoke up, a hitch in his voice.

"Yeah Mikey," I said, walking over to my youngest brother and pulling him into a hug. "We're going to find him and we're going to bring him home."

"Leo..." Don started but I cut him off sharply.

"Don, go tell Master Splinter what has happened, then call April and Casey, tell them we're going after Raph."

Don opened his mouth to protest but closed it with a snap and ran off to find Master Splinter.

"Leo...what if..." Mikey sniffed and swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. "What if...Raph didn't survive the crash?"

"Don't think like Mikey," I whispered, lifting his chin up and gently wiping his tears away with my thumb. "We're going to find him. Raphael _is _alive Mikey, I know he is."

Mikey swallowed and nodded and stared down at the ground, trying to will his tears to dry.

I turned around quickly so Mikey wouldn't see my own tears, Donnie's words floating through my head. _I doubt it..._ _I seriously doubt it Leo._

_No! _Leo thought furiously, shaking his head to get rid of his thoughts. Raphael _was _alive. And he was going to bring his baby brother home, no matter what.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/n: Hi guys. Sorry for the wait. School has been pretty hectic and just life in general. My muse went on a little holiday and has only just decided to return. Thankfully though most of my school work is out of the way so updates should be faster if my muse doesn't suddenly vanish again ^^**

**I was lucky enough however, to be hit with a bolt of inspiration. I know now what will happen in the next two or so chapters, and whilst they may be full of angst and a hurt Raphael, at least this fic is finally starting to move in the right direction.**

**Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to read and review this so far. You guys have definitely been a reason for me to keep going ^^**

**Now enough of my babble and enjoy.**

* * *

The three turtles were silent during the trip to the crash site. Each brother was on edge, fear and worry shining in all their eyes. Michelangelo had his eyes peeled to the front windshield, eyes scanning the road for any signs of his missing brother. Donatello gripped the steering wheel in a death grip, his hands shaking and his knuckles bone white. Leonardo sat up straight in his seat next to his other brothers, his posture stiff and on edge, as if he were ready to jump into a fight at any moment.

"Okay, so does every one remember the plan?" Leo asked after slowly letting out a deep breath in the hope to calm his jittery nerves.

"Yes," Donnie said, not taking his eyes off the road. "We keep in contact with Casey and April via shell-cell whilst we search the north and west area whilst they search the east and south."

Leo nodded in confirmation before turning his attention to his youngest brother. "Mikey, do you have any problems with that plan?"

"No," Mikey whispered, resting his head against the cold panel of glass that was the window.

"Hey, we'll find him Mikey," Leo said gently, placing his hand on his younger brother's shoulder. "You know we will."

"I heard what Donnie said before," Mikey snapped, his baby blue eyes filled with pain. "I'm not stupid Leo. Donnie said that there was no way a person could survive that crash!"

"Exactly, a _person,_" Leo stressed when Donnie didn't say anything in response. "But we aren't exactly human Mikey. There's still a chance Raph is out there. And we _will _find him," Leo said quietly, though it was mainly to reassure himself.

* * *

April pulled the car over to the side of the road, killing the engine and sitting back in her seat.

"We'll park here," she said, glancing over at Casey. "We're hidden from sight, so hopefully we won't have any police asking questions."

"Whatever," Casey muttered, watery eyes focused firmly on the floor.

"Casey, look at me," April said firmly, forcing Casey to look up at her. "We're going to find Raphael," April said softly, stroking Casey's cheek. "Even if we have to search all damn night. I will search every inch of this place until we find him. You got that?"

"Yeah," Casey swallowed the hard lump in his throat and opened his car door. "Yeah I know we will."

"Good," April said, joining her boyfriend out on the road.

The night air was chilly, bringing with it the promise of the coming season. April pulled her jumper tighter around her body and looked around the dark landscape that surrounded them. _We have to find Raph soon, _she thought, biting her lip in worry. _We have to find him before it gets any colder out here. In his state, he might freeze to death._

* * *

Raphael shivered as the wind picked up, sending icy shivers down his spine. It was so cold. His skin was numb with the cold, the frozen ground beneath him sucking away all the heat within his body.

_Must admit though, _Raphael thought ideally as another shiver racked his body, _the cold does take my pain away. _

With the numbness of his body from the cold, it was acting as a good barrier at keeping the pain at bay, though Raphael could still feel it. It was always there, coming and going like the tide, but never truly leaving.

He had managed to crawl a further twenty metres into the forest. He had been slipping in and out of consciousness over the past hour or so, trying to remain alert for any indicators that the police were getting close to his hiding spot. So far he had had to move twice to avoid detection, and each movement he made only reminded him of the pain that laced his body.

Raphael groaned and bit his lip to stop a scream from escaping his lips. Though the cold did help somewhat, it wasn't enough to completely eradicate his pain. Especially the pain in his leg. He knew without looking at the limb that it was completely shattered. Through the pain that constantly flared through that limb, he could _feel _that his leg wasn't the way it should be. He could tell that it didn't even have a shape at all now. It was just broken bone.

_At least my suit is keeping me a bit warm, _Raphael thought dully, looking down at his torn and blood stained leather suit.

_I wonder if the others know. _The thought sprang unbidden to Raphael's mind. _Did _his family know what had happened? He wondered how much longer they would wait before realizing that he should have been home. Raphael moaned when he realized they probably wouldn't notice until the morning. He _was_ always going out late at night, and never usually returned till the early hours of the morning. They probably wouldn't start looking for him until midday.

_That is, if they even want to find me, _Raphael couldn't help but think bitterly. He remembered the fight he had had with Leo before storming out of the lair. He remembered the things he had said, not just to Leo, but to his other brothers as well.

"_I'm done with you! I'm done with all of you!" _

Raphael winced as his words replayed in his mind. Why would his brothers want to find him after he had said that? They didn't know that he didn't mean it, that he had only said it in a moment of rage.

Raphael shook his head before realizing that wasn't the best idea. His head swam and his vision grew blurry. He could feel the darkness trying to pull him under again, and this time he was more than willing to comply. _Anything to take this pain away._

Just as he was starting to slip under, a slight sound in the distance had Raphael opening his eyes again. He squinted through the darkness and the haze of his pain into the undergrowth that lay in front of him. He had managed to pull himself to the base of an old oak tree, but hadn't gotten any further than that. He was still out in the open.

That's when Raphael heard the sounds of voice becoming closer, until they had turned into shouts.

"Let's try this way!" A voice Raphael didn't recognize called out, only about fifty or so metres away from where Raphael lay, immobilized.

_Cops, _Raphael thought, a stab of panic hitting his heart. _Shit! I can't let them find me, I can't let them see me, I can't-_

Suddenly a beam of light swept across the area and landed on Raph. Voices started yelling and footsteps started approaching at an alarming rate. The police were getting closer and closer-

Raphael froze as he was caught in the light of a torch.

* * *

**A/n: Sorry for leaving it at a bit of a cliff hanger folks. Now that most of my assignments are done and my tests are finished, the next chapter shouldn't take as long to upload. Word of warning though, you may want to bring tissues. **


	5. Chapter 5

-Redemption-

**Summary:** Takes place during the 2007 CGI movie. Leo finds out who the Night Watcher is in a completely different way...

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the turtles. *Imagines what it would be like if I did and grins evilly*

**A/n:** Thanks for the feedback on that last chapter, I'm glad this story is keeping you all entertained ^^ And don't worry folks because we ARE starting to get somewhere with this. I've been bitten by the writing bug and haven't done anything but write for this fic all morning! I've already written three chapters, and I hope to write more tonight, so keep a look out for updates! And hold on and keep reading, because trust me, you haven't seen anything yet!

**Warnings for swearing and blood. **

* * *

April hesitated mid-step, her body freezing as she cocked her head to the side, straining her ears to pick up the slightest of sounds.

"What is it?" Casey asked in a hushed voice, his deep blue eyes scanning the thick underbrush around them for any signs of movement or sound.

"I thought I heard something," April murmured, her green eyes slowly traveling over every piece of foliage that surrounded them until she was sure there was nothing out there that deemed a threat. Relaxing from her stiff posture, April sighed and rubbed her aching temples. "I thought I heard something," she muttered in defeat. "I guess my mind's just playing tricks on me."

Casey wrapped his wiry arms around April, pulling her in for a comforting hug, a hug that he needed just as much as she did. "Come on," Casey whispered into April's soft hair. "We have to keep looking."

April sighed and nodded, stepping away from Casey and redirecting her flashlight in front of them, a beam of watery yellow light cutting a path through the darkness that was ahead of them. Glancing down at her watch, April could just make out the small hands that didn't seem to be moving at all. It was 12:30, and there was still no sign of Raphael. They had been searching for a little over an hour now and still…nothing. There was no sign of the red-banded turtle anywhere. It was like he had just…vanished.

_I don't care if it takes the rest of the night, _April thought determinedly. _I'm going to find him._

A soft buzzing emitting from April's pocket had her snapping out of her thoughts. Realizing it was her phone; April quickly pulled the small black device from her pocket and held it up to her ear. "Hello?"

"April," Donnie greeted. "I'm calling for an update. Have you found anything?"

April sighed. "Sorry Donnie, we haven't found anything yet, just more and more trees. What about you guys?"

"Nothing yet," Donnie sighed softly. "But we're going to keep looking. Leo's headed off on his own to the west to cover more ground. Mikey and I are still going north. He may be deeper in the woods."

"Casey and I will keep looking here," April said. "We'll find him Donnie."

There was a slight pause from the other end. "I hope so," Donnie said softly.

Before April could say anything else to reassure the distressed turtle, the line went dead.

* * *

Donatello sighed and closed his shell-cell. The night was starting to get colder. There was a noticeable chill in the air and a strong breeze had picked up, sending shivers across Donatello's skin and racing down his spine. A thick cloud rolled in front of the moon, momentarily blocking out all light and plunging the forest into complete darkness.

"I should have known he was the Night Watcher," Don murmured quietly to himself. He knew Raphael went out every night, and not coming home until the early hours of the morning. At first he had questioned this, but after hearing the same "none of your damn business," from the angry turtle, Don had let the matter drop. He assumed Raph only went out drinking with Casey, or looking for a fight with some street punks to release some of his pent-up anger. He noticed Raphael coming home with a few bruises and cuts every now and again, but never questioned how he got them; again assuming they were from a fight. He had also noticed how much stronger Raphael was becoming.

On the few occasions where they still spared, Raphael would kick both Mikey and Don's shells without even breaking a sweat. And when he was standing next to his older brother, Donnie noticed the thick muscles of his corded neck, shoulders and arms. He knew Raph had been strong before and had some muscle tone, but nothing like he had now. And still he didn't question it. He didn't question the why his brother always watched the news, especially the Night Watcher reports. He didn't notice how his brother would spend most of the day in cooped up in the garage, tinkering away with something or other. All these clues, all these indicators of Raph's alter ego and Donnie hadn't even noticed. Until now.

Donnie shook his head sadly as he remembered the last conversation between the two of them about the supposed vigilante.

"_Well, look who finally woke up. I guess you think the Night Watcher's some kind of hero."_

"_Beats sitting round' here doin' nothin' while dirt-bags run free."_

"_I'd like to know what it is that you do that's so great. At least we're contributing around here. All you do is sleep all day."_

"_Yeah, you're right, I do nothin'. You got me all figured out."_

Donnie closed his eyes and hung his head, his body starting to shake with barely supressed sobs. "God Raph, I'm so sorry," Donnie whispered, squeezing his eyes closed tightly, trying not to let his tears escape. "I'm so sorry big brother."

"Raphie!"

Don whipped his head around to face Michelangelo, who was looking in every bush and shrub for any sign of their missing brother.

"Raphie where are you?" Mikey shouted, his baby blue eyes shining with fear and unshed tears.

Seeing his little brother like this, and wracked with his own guilt, Donnie let a sob escape him as his tears broke free and coursed down his cheeks.

* * *

Leo swatted away a low hanging branch in annoyance and pushed on through the thick foliage that threatened to tangle him up and trip him over at any moment. He wasn't getting anywhere this way, let alone covering more ground.

Grasping a branch that was just above his head, Leo swung himself up onto the branch of a large tree. He quickly scrambled up to the top of the tree, using this height to search the surrounding area for any signs of Raphael.

_Where are you Raph? _Leo thought, his heart pounding restlessly in his chest. _This is all my fault. If I had just listened to Raphael instead of yelling at him, he would be at home, safe. _

Thoughts and memories sprang unbidden to Leo's mind. Memories of harsh words exchanged between the two, moments when their eyes were locked in fierce combat, neither one wanting to be the first to back off.

"_This Night Watcher character's just some vigilante show-boat. But his days are over."_

"_Hey, the Night Watcher was the only one here to pick up the slack. Crime never took a break, you did."_

Leo shook his head fiercely, not wanting to remember the things they had said. "I'm going to find you Raphael," Leo promised, grounding his teeth together in determination. "I swear I'll find you Raph. I promise, I'll bring you home."

* * *

**A/n: **I've already written the next two chapters, though I still need to go through them, proof read and fine tune them, maybe give them a little tweak. They should be posted in a few days respectively. Thanks for all the wonderful support so far and don't forget to leave a review!


	6. Chapter 6

-Redemption-

**Summary:** Takes place during the 2007 CGI movie. Leo finds out who the Night Watcher is in a completely different way...

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the turtles. *Imagines what it would be like if I did and grins evilly*

**A/n:** Okay, this chapter has now been read-through and edited. Hopefully you enjoy it as much as the other chapters. Well, I think you will, seeing as how…*Clamps mouth shut before ruining the chapter*

**Warnings for swearing and blood. **

* * *

Raphael squinted his eyes against the harsh light of the torch that was directed upon him. He tried to shift, to move, to get away from the probing light, Master Splinter's voice ringing clearly through his head. _"A ninja's best weapon is the shadows. Stick to the shadows. Do not let anyone see who and what you are."_

"I think I see something over there!" A voice cried. The sound of approaching footsteps grew louder as did the voice.

"No," Raphael groaned, fighting back the wave of unconsciousness that was threatening to drag him under.

Digging his nails into the hard ground, Raphael tried to drag himself forward towards the patch of cover of the underbrush. The movement caused a sharp sliver of pain to rack over his body. Raphael couldn't help it, he screamed. The pain in his body was like nothing he had ever felt before. It felt like his bones were nothing more than shards of glass that dug into him painfully whenever he moved.

His throat was sore from screaming and his chest heaved as he fought for breath, his ribs sending him a painful reminder that breathing caused them to move, which in turn sent Hell's own fire coursing through him.

"Over here!" The voices shouted. The footsteps were only metres away from him now. At any moment the search patrol was going to see him, see what he _was._

Raphael tried to move again but the wave was faster, dragging him under until he all he knew was the icy darkness.

* * *

April stopped abruptly, eyes widening and body freezing.

"What is it babe?" Casey asked, stopping beside her.

"Shh!" April hissed, grabbing Casey by the arm and dragging him over to a thick bush, crouching down behind it, out of sight.

Parting the bush with her hands, April and Casey peered through the foliage ahead of them. A group of five men were making their way through the forest, their flashlights trained on something ahead of them.

"I think we've found him!" One of the men cried, his flashlight trained on something just out of April and Casey's range of vision.

Before April or Casey could move, a gut-wrenching scream broke through the air and the silence of the night.

"Raphael!" Casey hissed, his whole body stiff and ready to leap into action.

"Over here!" The men called and started moving towards the sound.

"Casey, we can't let them find him!" April hissed, her blood cold from the sound of Raphael's pained scream.

"We won't," Casey said with renewed determination. Sliding his hockey mask onto his face and grabbing his trade-mark hockey stick, Casey charged out from the undergrowth, hockey stick swinging in a wide arc.

April grabbed her own practise sword from her backpack and leapt after Casey, charging towards the men that had found Raphael.

The men stoped and turned to face the two, eyes wide with alarm and disbelief. They didn't have time to call for back up, or even have enough time to cry out, as Casey's hockey stick took out three of the guys in one sweep, knocking them all out. Their prone bodies slumped to the forest floor and didn't move. April flipped through the air and sent a powerful kick straight at the fourth man's head, knocking him out cold. The last man turned to run, but April quickly caught him with her practise sword, knocking him out deftly with the others.

They stood panting for a minute, looking down at the unconscious men. Quickly they stooped forward and took all of the walkie-talkie and weapons away from the unconscious guards. A soft whimper snapped their attention towards the trunk of a large oak tree, one of the fallen guard's torches still shining brightly at the area.

"Raph," Casey whispered his eyes wide and face pale as he ran towards his friend. April followed him quickly and dropped to Raphael's side.

"Raphael?" She asked softly, gently, though her voice was laced with fear and worry. He groaned at the sound of his name but didn't open his eyes.

"He's alive," Casey whispered breathlessly, looking down at his friend with obvious relief.

April felt her own heart lighten in her chest. Raphael was alive. "Casey, shine your torch on him," April instructed, snapping herself out of her thoughts of swelling relief. They weren't out of the woods yet. Literally.

Casey did as he was instructed, fumbling around in his bag until he pulled out the big flashlight. He gasped as soon as he directed it on Raphael. April couldn't hold back her own gasp of horror.

Raphael _was _alive, but he hadn't escaped without injury. Far from it. What was left of his Night Watcher suit was torn and ragged, and crusted with dried blood. His right leg was bent at an unnatural angle as was his right arm. The whole right side of his face was covered in dried blood from a deep cut on the side of his head. His lip was split and his face was swollen and discoloured with bruises. He was panting heavily, his chest struggling to get in enough oxygen for his lungs. A sheen of sweat covered his pale skin, which shone in the light from the torch.

"Oh Raph," April whispered hoarsely, gently stroking his sweaty cheek. "We have to get you out of here."

"Quickly whipping out her phone, April fumbled across the numbers to type in Donnie's phone number. She held the phone up to her ear and grumbled impatiently whilst it rang. "Come on Donnie, pick up," she murmured, never taking her eyes away from Raphael.

"April?" Donnie's voice sounded in her ear.

"Donnie!" April gasped with relief, her hand moving down to hold Raphael's limp hand.

"April, what's wrong?" Donnie asked in concern, his voice worried.

"We found him," April said and was rewarded with a sharp intake of breath from Donatello. "We found him Donnie. He's alive."

* * *

"_He's alive."_

Donatello's hand shook as he fought the urge to sink to the ground. Those two words he thought he would never hear, sounded like the sweet cries of angels to his ears.

"He's…he's alive?" He croaked, finding it hard to work his voice.

"Yes," April said from the other end of the phone. It sounded like she was crying in relief.

"He's alive," Donnie repeated to himself, his whole body numb whilst at the same time feeling like a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

"Donnie, he's hurt," April sniffed, trying to keep her voice from shaking. "It's bad."

Donnie closed his eyes for a moment as he made himself adapt a calm voice he always used when he turned into 'Doctor Donnie.' "Okay April, you have to get him to your car. Is he bleeding?"

"I…I think so…"

"Is it bad?" Don cut in. "Is there a lot of blood?"

"I don't think so…"

"Good. Then get him to your car April. Once there I want you to evaluate his injuries further."

"What about you guys?"

"Don't worry about us," Don assured her. "I'll call Leo and we'll meet you down the road somewhere."

"Okay," April took a deep breath. "What then?"

"After you've checked him for any serious injuries, I want you to drive as fast as you can to the end of the highway, that's where we've parked the Battle-Shell. We should meet you there halfway. It'll take us maybe an hour to re-group and get there."

"Okay Donnie," April said, taking a deep breath from the other end of the line.

"Listen to me April; after I've called Leo I'll call you back. I want you to tell me everything that is happening until we get there. Can you do that for me April?"

"Yes."

"Good. I'm going to call Leo know. Get Raph back to the car April. I'll call you again in a few minutes."

"Okay Donnie," April said before hanging up.

Don closed his own phone and took a deep breath. Raphael was alive. His brother was alive.

"Mikey!" Don called out to his younger brother who was still searching through the forest ahead of him.

"What?" Mikey asked, appearing a few moments later, looking worn out and ragged from their search.

"April and Casey found him," Don said, a smile of relief parting his lips. "He's alive."

Mikey blinked slowly before a huge smile broke out on his face. "Raphie's alive!" He cried before launching himself at Donnie and knocking him to the ground, wrapping his arms around him and sobbing in relief.

Donnie closed his own eyes and let a few tears slide free before pulling away from Mikey. "Come on," he said smiling, "let's call Leo."


	7. Chapter 7

-Redemption-

**Summary:** Takes place during the 2007 CGI movie. Leo finds out who the Night Watcher is in a completely different way...

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the turtles. *Imagines what it would be like if I did and grins evilly*

**A/n:** Okay guys, this chapter is a little dark. And because I'm such a bad, twisted person and find it easy to put my favourite character, (Raphael), in a lot of pain, that's just what I've done. If you're a little queasy about some things I suggest you just skim read parts of this chapter. Also maybe read this with a tissue, just in case ;)

Also this chapter is quite long, longer than my other ones, just as a treat for you guys!

**Warnings for swearing and blood and a hurt Raphie :( **

* * *

April snapped her phone shut and quickly slid it back into her jeans pocket. "We have to get him back to the car," she told Casey. "The others are going to meet us up there."

Casey nodded and, without saying a word, slid his arms under Raph's prone form as gently as he could. Bracing himself, Casey grunted and lifted Raphael into his arms, holding him bridal-style against his chest.

Raphael groaned as he was moved and jostled but didn't wake up entirely, keeping his eyes tightly closed. His breathing was becoming laboured and Casey could feel the coldness of his reptilian skin against his own.

"He's cold," he told April, tightening his grip ever so slightly around his friend.

"We have to hurry," April said, frowning with worry. "Can you carry him Casey?"

"Yes," Casey said firmly. His friend may be heavy, and awkward to carry due to his shell, but there was no way Casey was going to let go now, not after he had just found him again.

"Good, then let's get moving," April said as she got to her feet.

Casey nodded and followed quickly after April at a steady jog. He cringed with every step he took, knowing that the movement jostled Raph around ever more, which caused the unconscious turtle to groan and shift in his arms in pain.

April glanced over her shoulder at the two, her green eyes shining with worry. She cut through the forest, trying desperately to remember the way in which they had come. It would do none of them any good if they got lost. Raphael needed his brothers, needed Don's trained eye, and he needed it now.

Casey's arms began to feel like led, his muscles protesting and actually starting to shake under the strain of his friend's weight. Casey groaned and shifted his arms, hoisting Raphael higher and bringing him tighter to his body. He would not stop. He would not drop his friend. Raphael had always been there for him when he needed him and never let Casey down. Casey wasn't going to let Raphael down now, not when he needed him the most.

April didn't know how long they had been running for. It could have been for an hour, or a couple of minutes. One minute they were running through the forest, deftly jumping over uprooted roots and manoeuvring through the thick foliage that surrounded them on all four sides. And the next, April noticed that the foliage was starting to thin out. She could see small gaps through the trees and felt the ground grow steeper with every step. Then they were out of the forest completely, standing at the bottom of the hill that led up to the highway.

April cast a quick glance over her shoulder. Casey was visibly shaking with the effort of holding on to Raphael. Sweat coated his body and drenched the back of his shirt as his chest fought for air. Raphael wasn't doing any better. He had grown a lot more pale since they had first found him. But what worried April more was the fact that Raphael wasn't making a sound. Even when Casey accidentally jostled him, he didn't make a protest, didn't groan or moan in pain.

"Come on," April said, turning around to face the highway again. "We have to hurry."

It was slower going up the hill. Though the hill wasn't necessarily big, it was pretty steep. Casey was having a harder time getting up the somewhat slippery hill than April was. Seeing this, April turned around and walked back down to where Casey was, shifting Raphael so she was holding some of his weight.

Casey shot her a thankful and relieved look, and together they started slowly back up the hill. Finally, after a lot of slipping and stumbling and grumbling, they managed to get to the top of the hill. Stepping over the guard rail, April ran ahead of Casey to where they had hidden the car earlier. Quickly opening the back door, April pushed the front two seats forward to give them more room in the back. Finding the blanket and first aid kit April always kept in the car, she quickly turned the overhead light on. The light was weak but it would do.

April turned around when she heard Casey behind her. Stepping out of the car, she quickly made room for him. "Lay him down in the back," she instructed.

Casey did as he was told, carefully laying Raphael across the back seat of the car. Raphael groaned and shifted. It looked like he was beginning to wake up.

"Quick Casey, the flashlight," April ordered, squeezing past her boyfriend and crouching in the back of the car next to Raphael.

Casey quickly rummaged through his bag and pulled out the heavy flashlight, turning it on and training it on Raphael and April.

"Donnie's going to call any minute now," April said, opening the first aid kit awkwardly on her lap. "Help me get this suit off so we can fully check him for injuries."

Nodding, Casey grabbed his pocket knife from his jeans pocket and leaned forward, half in and half out of the car. Unclasping the front of the suit, April quickly pulled the zipper down as far as it would go. The further she pulled down the zipper, the paler April became. With each new inch of flesh exposed, the more Raphael's injuries became apparent.

Cutting slits up the side of the suit, Casey quickly helped April pull the whole thing off. Well, whatever was left of it anyway.

"Shit," Casey breathed, eyes trained on Raphael. Now that the suit was no longer covering his body, the extent of his injuries glared at Casey and April.

Covering him with the blanket, April went back to rummaging through the first aid kit whilst Casey kept the torch steady.

There was a sudden buzzing noise which had them both jumping. Realizing it was her phone; April dug it quickly out of her pocket and held it to her ear. "Donnie, where are you?"

"We're nearly at the Battle-Shell April," Don said from his end of the line. "We are you? How's Raph?"

"We're back at the car," April said. "As for Raph…Donnie I really need your help on this. This is way out of my league."

"We'll be there soon April," Don assured her. "Get Casey to drive. It'll be quicker if you meet us halfway."

"Okay," April said before lowering the phone and turning to Casey. "Don said to meet them halfway."

Nodding in understanding, Casey quickly closed the back seat door and ran around to the other side of the car, jumping into the driver's seat. Fishing around for the keys, Casey fumbled with them before being able to get them into the ignition, his hands shaking.

"All right, hold on," he told April, ignoring his seat belt and turning the keys in the ignition.

The engine started chocking, a deep rumbling noise, before it went silent. Frowning, Casey turned the keys again. The same chocking noise as before greeted them before the engine went silent again.

"Why isn't it starting?" April demanded.

"Shit!" Casey cursed. "There's no fuel left!"

"What?" April asked in disbelief before cursing under her breath. "Damn it, damn it, damn it!"

"April? April what's happening?" Don's voice asked from the forgotten phone which was still clasped in April's hand.

"The damn car's out of fuel!" April growled, fighting the urge to curl into a helpless ball and cry like a frightened and lost child.

"Shit," Donnie swore. "Okay listen to me April. I want you to stay nice and calm for me. We'll all meet you there okay? But until we do I need you to look Raph over for me. Tell me every injury you can see. Can you do that for me April?"

"Yes," April whispered, closing her eyes briefly and taking a deep breath before turning to Casey. "Casey I need you to keep that torch on him."

"Got it," Casey said.

"Okay April, you're going to tell me everything you see," Don said, trying to keep his voice calm. "And I'm going to talk you through it."

"Okay," April said. Using her shoulder to keep the phone pressed to her ear, April moved forward and began to inspect the still unconscious Raphael.

"He's got a cut on the side of his head," April said, gently running her hands over the wound. "He wasn't wearing a helmet when we found him, so I assume that it came off during the crash."

"What else?"

The cut's deep but it's stopped bleeding. There's a bit of swelling to his head and bruising to his face and right eye. And his lip is split."

"Good April," Don said. "Now do you have any water with you?"

"Yes," April said, rummaging through her backpack and pulling out her water bottle.

"Good. Now I want you to wet a towel or cloth or something and try to clean that wound. Do you have a first aid kit?"

"Yes."

"Is there any iodine in it? Anything that can be used as a disinfectant?"

"Yes," April said, pulling out the small bottle of iodine.

"Good. Clean the wound as best you can."

April did as instructed. Casey quickly tore off his outer shirt and handed it to April. Nodding in thanks, April wet the cloth and gently began to clean all the dried blood away from Raph's head wound. When she had finished, April then dipped the edge of the shirt into the iodine bottle and began to disinfect the wound.

Raphael groaned slightly at the sting of the iodine, shifting uncomfortably.

"Raph? Raph can you hear me?" April asked, leaning closer to the prone turtle. "Raphael wake up."

Raphael groaned again but kept his eyes tightly shut.

"April? What's happening?"

"Sorry Don," April apologized. "Raph just groaned. I was trying to rouse him but he won't wake up."

"He probably has a severe concussion," Don said. "Have you cleaned his head wound?"

"Yes," April said before examining Raphael again. Her eyes landed on his right shoulder and she winced. "His shoulder is dislocated. Bad. I don't think I can pop it back in Don, not without doing more harm than good."

"Leave it," Don said. "I'll put it back in when we get there."

April nodded and continued on with the examination, moving the blanket down inch by inch.

"His right arm is broken, to what extent I don't know," April said. "I think his wrist is broken. And it's hard to tell with his plastron, but there's a lot of bruising there. I think some of his ribs are broken."

"Alright April, what else?"

April gently ran her fingers down Raph's sensitive sides, between his plastron and shell. The unnatural bumps that she could feel were definitely indicators that his ribs were broken. Pulling the blanket the rest of the way down to examine his legs, April let out a strangled cry upon seeing his right leg.

"April? April what's wrong!" Don asked franticly from the phone.

"His…his leg…it's…it's…" April didn't know how to continue. Casey and April's eyes were both trained on his leg, well; you could still call it that. It was twisted at an unnatural angle and you couldn't tell where his thigh started and where his calf ended. April couldn't even distinguish where his knee was, let alone his ankle.

A wave of nausea hit her and she felt like she was going to faint. "Oh God Donnie," she whimpered. "It's bad, really bad."

"April, I need you to calm down and listen to me," Donnie fought to keep his voice calm and in control. "I need you to tell me what you see."

April swallowed the vile that had risen in her throat and took a deep breath. "His leg is twisted at an unnatural angle. And…Donnie I can't tell where his thigh starts and his calf ends. It's all just…mush."

"April, I need you to fix it as best as you can," Donnie said after a long pause. "I need you to put his leg back in place."

"No," April said, shaking her head. "I…I can't do that Donnie."

"Yes you can," Don tried to sooth her. "April, Raph needs you know. You have to get his leg straight. Get Casey to find two sticks, or something to use as splints."

Casey tore his horrified gaze away from the grotesque twist of Raphael's leg and hopped out of the car, stumbling around to find two sturdy branches.

"Donnie," April said once Casey was gone. "I…I can't do it. I…"

"April," Don cut in. "You _have _to. Just listen to my voice and follow my instructions. Now, what direction is his leg in?"

"It's jutting to the left," April swallowed.

Casey returned with the flashlight and two branches. Hopping into the back with April, he swallowed and settled down next to his friend.

"Okay," Donnie said, taking a deep breath. "April tell Casey to keep Raph still. I need you to put pressure on his thigh and pull his leg to the right until you hear a pop."

"Okay," April said in a quivering voice. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she moved down towards Raph's leg.

Casey gently placed his hands on Raph's plastron to hold him down. Once April was settled, she met Casey's eyes and placed one of her hands on Raph's thigh, and the other one on his calf, or, where she _assumed _his calf was anyway.

"Okay April, on my count of three," Don said. "One."

April took a deep breath.

"Two."

Casey swallowed the hard lump in his throat and held Raphael down.

"Three!"

Biting her lip, April squeezed her eyes shut and quickly pulled Raphael's leg. Several things happened at once. There was a sickening popping sound as Raphael's leg was snapped back into place.

It was like a switch had been turned on inside of Raph. He arched his back off the backseat, fighting against Casey who was desperately trying to hold him down. An agony filled scream was torn from Raphael's throat as he threw his head back, his eyes screwed shut in pain. His hands were clenched into tight fists and dug into the material of the seat, his knuckles white from his death-grip.

April managed to stumble out of the car before she emptied the bile that was in her stomach onto the road. In the car, Raphael kept screaming.

April had dropped her phone when she had scrambled out of the car. It now sat on the floor, discarded and forgotten. But it was still on, and from the other end of the line, Donnie paled and let the contents of his own stomach out as the sound of his brother's pained screams filled his ears.

* * *

**A/n: **Sorry for leaving you all off like this but I felt this was a good place as any to leave off. Also if you see anything wrong in the way of medical stuff, I'm sorry for that. I'm not a doctor; I'm just going off a whim here folks. Stay tuned for next chapter and don't forget to leave a review ^^


	8. Chapter 8

-Redemption-

**Summary:** Takes place during the 2007 CGI movie. Leo finds out who the Night Watcher is in a completely different way...

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the turtles. *Imagines what it would be like if I did and grins evilly*

**A/n: **Sorry for leaving you guys off like that last chapter. Luckily I have the next few chapters written, so I hope to fall into a pattern of posting up a chapter every Sunday and Wednesday ^^

**Warnings for swearing and blood. **

* * *

"Donnie! Donnie what's happening?" Leo roared, grabbing his quivering brother's shoulders and kneeling down beside him.

Don spit what was left in his stomach onto the ground. His face was pale and sweaty. He visibly shook in his feeble position on the floor of the battle-shell, tears leaking from the corners of his eyes.

"Donnie," Leo said more calmly, rubbing soothing circles over Don's shell in an attempt to sooth the clearly frightened turtle. "You need to calm down Donnie. Tell me what happened."

Leo could sense Mikey standing a few feet behind him, his baby blue eyes wide with fear and confusion.

Wordlessly, Don pointed to his fallen shell-cell, which was still open from where he had dropped it on the floor previously.

Leo followed Don's finger to the fallen shell-cell. Glancing questionably at his brother, he reached forward and brought the small device to his ear. He felt the air shift beside him as Mikey crouched down next to him to hear what was happening on the other side.

For a moment, the only sound that reached Leo and Mikey's ears was the sound of humming static. Frowning and pressing the shell-cell closer to their ears, Leo and Mikey strained to penetrate through the static to the other noises that could vaguely be heard through the buzzing hum.

Leo heard the sound of someone running, their feet slapping the asphalt hard. With it he heard the sound of heavy and fast breathing and panting. Dimly in the background, he heard something being shifted and moved. There was a sudden moment of silence, then April and Casey's frantic voices broke through the buzzing static. Their voices were raised and panicked, though Leo couldn't make out the words they were frantically shouting.

But then Leo heard a sound that made his blood run cold. Over the sounds of panting, heavy breathing and raised voices, there was one sound that stood out from the rest. It was a blood curdling scream that ripped through the night and sent shivers racing down Leo's spine.

"Raphie!" Mikey cried out, choking back the sob that threatened to break free. "What's happening to him?" He demanded, tears rolled freely down his cheeks now and his innocent eyes shone with fear and pain, pain for his brother and fear of what was happening to him.

Another scream, this one louder than the first, sent Mikey stumbling back, crouching on the floor of the battle-shell next to Don. Mikey started shaking life leaf as more tears streamed down his cheeks. "Donnie what's happening to him?" He shrieked in fear, gripping Don's arm tightly with a sweaty hand, his blue eyes wide and demanding answers.

Leo gripped the phone tightly in his hand, the sounds of Raphael's pained screams echoing through his mind. His hand started shaking, but he found he couldn't let the shell-cell go, holding on to it like a lifeline. He guessed in a way it _was _a lifeline. It was the only tie he had to Raphael at the moment, even though what he was hearing from the other end made his stomach lurch and his blood freeze in his veins.

"Donnie what's happening?" Leo demanded, voice shaking despite his best efforts to control it. "What's happening to Raphael?"

"They…they had to set his leg," Don murmured, his legs to unsteady to support him. "April…April had to set it straight. Must have been worse than I thought…"

Leo turned his attention back to the shell-cell, taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm his nerves. "April? Casey? Pick up guys, pick up!"

"Leo?" April's voice sounded weird and disjointed when she picked up her own phone and pressed it against her ear. "Leo where are you guys? Raph…"

"Calm down April," Leo said, though he was fighting to keep his own nerves in check. "What's happening? How's Raphael?"

"Leo, you guys have to get here, now!" April's voice was shrill and her breathing hard and fast. "Something's happening!"

"What? What's happening?" Leo demanded, clutching the shell-cell tighter in his hand.

"Casey what's happening?" April suddenly screamed from the other end of the line.

"April? April talk to me!" Leo yelled his nerves shattering as his heart pounded wildly in his chest. "April?"

"Leo!" April sounded like she was crying, her voice cracking as she talked into the phone. The sound of static filled Leo's ears and was threatening to drown April out. They were losing signal.

"April, tell me what's happening!" Leo yelled, feeling a sense of rising panic build up in his chest.

Don and Mikey watched with wide eyes, unable to move, and feeling utterly helpless as the scene in front of them played out, and they were helpless to stop it.

"Something's happening to Raph," April's voice was full of panic, and starting to break up through the growing static. "He's…coughing…blood…everywhere…he's…"

"April? April!"

"Leo…help…"

"Hang on April, we're coming!" Leo yelled, April's frightened voice fading before being completely replaced by static. "April can you hear me? April?"

Leo yelled in frustration and flung the shell-cell away from him. It clattered to the floor, laying silent, dead.

"Leo, what happened?" Don was the one now demanding answers. He had managed to calm himself down enough to rise to his feet and move towards his eldest brother.

"I don't know," Leo gasped, trying desperately to calm down the wild beating of his heart. "I lost signal with them. But…something's not right. We need to get to Raph, now."

"On it," Don said, grounding his teeth firmly as he slid himself behind the wheel of the battle-shell. The engine roared to life, and Don pressed his foot down on the accelerator, hard. The tires shrieked and skidded on the asphalt before lurching forward.

Leo and Mikey stumbled forward, managing to brace themselves against the wall before they went flying.

"How long?" Leo demanded, carefully making his way over to one of the spare seats and slumping into it.

"I don't know. Five minutes, maybe," Don said, eyes glued to the road ahead, his foot never easing up on the gas.

Mikey shakily made his way to the seat opposite Leo and fell into it. "Donnie, can't this thing go any faster?" He demanded.

"I'm going as fast as I can!" Donnie snapped, casting a quick glance over his shoulder at his younger brother before snapping his attention back to the road in front of him.

Leo gripped the arm-rests tightly. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't control his breathing. A sheen of sweat coated his brow and he felt droplets roll down the back of his neck. Suddenly, he felt as if he had been slammed from behind by a bus. His stomach dropped and his breathe escaped him in one big rush.

"Leo? Leo what's wrong?" Mikey cried out in panic, seeing the distant look in Leo's eyes and the sudden change in his posture. He was bent over, like his stomach was in pain, and had his head clasped tightly in his sweaty hands.

"Something's wrong," Leo managed to gasp out between his grounded teeth.

"What?" Donnie asked with worry, turning around the best he could to face his brother whilst keeping one eye on the road ahead of him.

"Something's happening to Raphael. I can…feel…it," Leo mumbled before his eyes rolled into his head and he slumped to the ground, unconscious.

* * *

**A/n: **Because I've been feeling sick lately, and had to stay home from school as a result, I've had a lot of free time on my hands to just write chapter after chapter for this story. *Sighs happily* I love it when my Muse is working for me ;)

Anyway, most of today and last night has been spent on doing a rough draft of plot outlines for each chapter of this story, and as a result, more plot bunnies were born and I know what direction I want to take this story in. Though I still have to give it a few tweaks, I'm happy with the way it's coming along. I'm also happy to tell you guys that this story will hopefully be a longish one, somewhere around forty chapters or so, I think…


	9. Chapter 9

-Redemption-

**Summary:** Takes place during the 2007 CGI movie. Leo finds out who the Night Watcher is in a completely different way...

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the turtles. *Imagines what it would be like if I did and grins evilly*

**A/n: **Warning: This chapter may contain scenes that are disturbing to some. You have been warned.

I also had to change a few of the chapters I had already written around so the story could flow better. But now, I have them in a good, working order :3

**Warnings for swearing and blood and violence. **

* * *

April heaved violently, hot acidic bile burning the back of her throat. She spit out the rest of the burning bile, before dry heaving, her stomach now empty and having nothing left to bring up. Tears burned in the corners of April's eyes and rolled down he cheeks. Her heart was beating wildly in her chest and her breathing was coming out in short, painful gasps. Her vision swam and her head ached. Images of what she had done only moments before sprang unbidden to April's mind, causing her to dry heave again.

_Raphael…oh God Raph... _April thought in horror, the sounds of his pained-filled screams echoing around her mind.

"April! April!"

Casey's frantic calling snapped April out of her daze and she stumbled to her feet on shaking legs and raced back over to the car. The frigid night air felt like pin-pricks across her clammy skin, and sent sharp pains straight to her lungs every time she breathed in. The moon was starting to set, and what little light that was left was blocked behind a thickening layer of dense, foreboding clouds, casting the rest of the world in flickering, solid shadows.

April stumbled and only just managed to regain her footing in time to stop herself from falling to the hard, unforgiving ground.

"Casey, Casey what's happening?" She shouted, stumbling to the car and leaning in the doorway to try and catch her breath.

Casey was still crouched on the floor beside the backseat, desperately trying to hold a squirming Raphael down without hurting him further and provoking his injuries.

"Help me," Casey panted, his arms straining as Raphael's struggles started to become more violent.

April quickly hopped into the car and crouched down beside Casey, her hands moving to rest on Raphael's arms. His skin was hot to the touch, and sleek with a layer of sweat.

"We have to stop him moving," Casey gasped, as Raphael tried to struggle out of his grip.

April looked around for something to use when her eyes rested on the two branches that had been knocked to the floor in the struggle. Her eyes snapped down to his un-splinted leg. Quickly groping around the floor for the first aid kit, April snatched up a bandage roll and shuffled over to the fallen branches.

"Keep his leg still," April ordered Casey, as she began to align the branches on either side of his injured leg.

Casey shifted his position, so one hand rested on Raph's lower plastron, and the other rested lightly on his bad thigh. Raphael squirmed at the touch and groaned in pain, trying to shift away from Casey's hands.

"Hold still Raph," Casey whispered to his friend, rubbing soothing circles over his skin. "You have to hold still man."

April unrolled the bandage and, as carefully as she could, began to splint his injured leg.

Raphael's brows furrowed and his teeth mashed together in pain. He tried to kick out, to dislodge the hands that were causing him so much pain. He jostled his bad leg in his attempts to get free. As a result, he threw his head back and screamed, a fiery pain shooting through his leg and consuming him, leaving him breathless from the intensity.

"Raph! Hold on buddy, hold on!" Casey grasped Raph's hand in his own and gripped it tightly, repeating those words over and over again like a mantra.

April finished binding the splints to his leg and moved to rest her hand on his forehead. Raphael continued to thrash, screams and groans escaping his lips as he tried to fight the pain that had become his body.

"April? Casey? Pick up guys, pick up!"

The voice was muffled and sudden that it made April jump. Searching around in the darkness, April's eyes landed on her cell phone, forgotten on the floor when she had made her quick exit out of the car earlier.

"Leo?" April asked with relief, holding the phone in a shaking hand up to her ear. "Where are you guys? Raph…"

"Calm down April," Leo's voice sounded like he was fighting to control his own panic. "What's happening? How's Raphael?"

Before April could answer however, Raphael started heaving. Snapping her attention to the injured turtle, April watched in horror as Raph's chest moved at an alarming rate. His mouth was open wide as he desperately fought for air.

"Raph? Raph buddy!" Casey shouted, panic shining in his eyes as he gently slid Raph's head onto his lap.

"Raph!" April gasped, forgetting the phone in her hand as she rushed over.

That's when Raphael started coughing. The coughs started out soft at first, but quickly grew in intensity until he couldn't breathe.

"Oh God, Raph!" April shouted, moving over to him quickly, resting her hands on his heaving chest.

The coughs grew in intensity until Raph was struggling to sit up, the force of each cough jarring his body, sending pain flaring over every inch of him.

"Casey, what's happening?" April shouted desperately as she stared down in horror at Raphael, her mind going numb, not knowing what to do.

"I don't know!" Casey shouted back, his eyes filled with panic as he gripped tightly on to Raphael.

There was a choking sound and suddenly Raphael heaved upwards, leaning forward as he vomited onto his chest. April stared in horror as bile and blood slid down his chest. _He's coughing up blood. Oh God, oh God…_

Raphael continued to cough, big jarring coughs that rattled his bones as he coughed up more and more blood. Blood dribbled from the corner of his mouth and his eyes were rolled back in his head as his body started to spasm and twitch in Casey's hands.

"April? April what's happening?" Leo's voice was yelling from the forgotten device in April's frozen hand.

"Leo, you guys have to get here, now!" April screamed into the phone, panic making her heart beat wildly against her ribcage. "Something's happening!"

What? What's happening?" Leo demanded, his voice filled with the authority of a leader.

"Leo!" April shouted desperately, sobs wracking her body as Raphael continued to cough and spasm in Casey's hands. To her horror, April heard static from the other end of the line, which was drowning out Leo's voice. They were losing signal.

"April, tell me what's happening!" Leo yelled over the phone, but his voice was merely a whisper, drowned out by the buzzing of the rising static.

"Something's happening to Raph," April yelled, her voice filled with panic. She could tell they were breaking up, and it wouldn't be long before the line went dead. "He's coughing up blood! It's everywhere…I don't know what to do!"

"April? April!"

"Leo?" April asked frantically. The sound of buzzing was the only sound coming from the phone.

"No. No, no, no!" April whispered in a cracked voice, feeling the tears roll down her cheeks as a feeling of pure helplessness overtook her body. Dropping the phone, she turned her attention back to Raphael and Casey.

Casey was frantically trying to clear the blood away from Raph's mouth in an attempt to clear his airways.

"No, don't do this to me man. Come on!" Casey yelled in panic, his trembling hands stained with Raphael's dark blood.

Raphael wasn't coughing anymore. His skin was pale, the blood that was dribbling down his chin dark against his skin. His head rolled lifelessly in Casey's arms, and his body remained limp as a ragdoll.

"Raph?" April whispered, leaning forward with a growing sense of horror. April would have preferred Raphael to be screaming, and coughing up blood. It was a terrible thought, she knew, but it was better than seeing him silent and limp like this, like he were dead. At least if he was coughing or screaming, April would know that he was still alive.

Casey suddenly made a choking sound in the back of his throat, which made April snap her eyes up to look at her boyfriend. His eyes were wide and leaking tears, his face pale, almost as pale as Raphael's, and he was staring down at Raph's chest.

Following his gaze, April slid her eyes down and froze when she saw what Casey was seeing. Her eyes became fixated on Raphael's chest, which moments ago had been moving up and down rapidly as he fought for breath. Horror flood through April as she stared with incomprehension down at his chest, waiting…waiting…

His chest was completely and utterly still.

Raphael wasn't breathing.


	10. Chapter 10

-Redemption-

**Summary:** Takes place during the 2007 CGI movie. Leo finds out who the Night Watcher is in a completely different way...

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the turtles. *Imagines what it would be like if I did and grins evilly*

**A/n: **Happy to say that I've worked out most of the plots for this and the writing is coming along smoothly. In fact I've got the next 3 chapters already written, and waiting to be edited. So, I hope this story is still capturing your intrest and it is as fun to read as it is for me to write ^^

**Warnings for swearing and blood. **

* * *

Pain. It was all he knew. It consumed him like a tsunami wave. His bones ached with it, his body screamed with it. He was aware of only one thing, and that was the pain, the blinding pain that made him forget everything else. He didn't know where he was or even _who _he was, but he didn't care. He just wanted the pain to go away.

And through the thick fog that was his pain, he could just make out a few other things as well, sounds, noises. He could hear his heart drumming loudly in his chest, like it was trying to break free and run away. He could hear his blood roaring in his ears and pulsing through his veins. He could hear his own laboured breathing. It sounded like his lungs were drowning, and blocking out all the oxygen he was desperately trying to take in. His throat felt raw and bloodied, like he had tried to swallow sandpaper.

_This is it; _Raphael managed to think through the disorienting fog. _I'm going to die._

But with that thought, there was no fear, no horror of what was happening to him; only a tired resignation. _It'll all be okay, _his brain thought for him, supplying him with the words he needed so desperately to hear. _At least then you won't feel the pain anymore._

And it was true, Raphael thought. If he did die, if he did slip away from this world into the next, then he wouldn't have to feel this pain anymore. His body would be free.

Raphael found himself relaxing at the thought. _It's okay, I'm ready. _

And he was ready. Ready to just let the darkness consume him and take everything away. _Everyone dies eventually. Now, it's my turn. _

A semblance of calm washed over Raphael, momentarily pushing the stabbing pain away, so it only lingered in the background, in the periphery of his mind. He felt a warmness surround him and turn his thoughts off; drowning them out and pushing them away until they were all gone. He felt his lungs, which only moments ago, had felt like they were drowning in liquid fire, were now starting to slow down. The heavy beating of his heart was starting to fade, and it no longer felt like it was trying to burst through his ribcage.

_This is it, _Raphael thought calmly as the darkness took a hold of him. _I'm ready._

And just as he was about to fully let go, just as he was about to cut the last ties that held him here, to this earth, he _felt _something pull him back sharply. Raphael frowned in his mind and tried to pull away from the strong hold that had enveloped him.

_Let me go damn it! _

There was no reply. The hold intensified and with it came a strangely comforting presence. Soon, the darkness that had all but consumed him, exploded into shards, which turned and grew with colour and turned into images, images that played across Raphael's closed eyelids. Raphael struggled at first, trying to push the intruding colours away. He didn't want this; he wanted the darkness that whispered the promise of release.

But then the colours started to shift and change, forming into shapes. And then it felt like Raphael had plunged into a pool of icy water. His brain snapped awake from what felt like a deep slumber, now alert and starting to process the forming pictures before him.

Four blurry green blobs transformed and began to become clearer with every passing minute until a clear picture had been formed before his very eyes. But only it wasn't a picture, Raphael's mind whispered to him softly. It was a memory.

The picture focused with sudden intensity, and Raphael felt like he had been punched in the gut. Because the picture was of him. But it wasn't just him. There were others with him, standing there, smiling.

And then his brain supplied everything he needed to dissect the picture. It was a picture his family had taken a few months before Leo had left for training in Central America. Raphael stood proudly in the middle of the picture, a rare smile on his face that was half smirk, his amber eyes twinkling with mischief and _life. _Next to him, on his right side, stood his brother, his older brother. _Leonardo, _his brain supplied for him. Leonardo was smiling, but it wasn't into the picture. His head was turned and he was smiling at _Raph_, one of his hands resting on Raphael's shoulder. On Raphael's left was a tall man with straight blue hair; _Casey. _Casey had one arm wrapped around Raphael's shoulders, and the other wrapped around a pretty petite woman with fiery hair and burning green eyes; _April._

April was smiling fully into the camera, her hands resting on the shoulders of a purple-banded turtle; Raphael's other brother, _Donatello. _Don was twisted to the side, his mouth open in a laugh. He had his arms wrapped around a fourth turtle, _Michelangelo. _Michelangelo was in a headlock from Don, leaning against his brother and laughing as Don gave him a noogie. Mikey's wide blue eyes were sparkling with laughter, and his hands were behind Don's head, in an attempt at making rabbit ears. Next to Mikey was a tall brown rat. _Master Splinter…Sensei…Father. _Master Splinter hand on clawed hand resting on Leonardo's shoulder, the other clamped on the top of his walking stick. His eyes were shining with warmth and a content smile lay upon his lips.

"_Raphael, wake up."_

The voice flooded through Raphael's head, and he knew instantly that the voice belonged to the person who had brought him out of the darkness.

"_Leo?" _

"_Raphael, wake up. Wake up little brother."_

"_Leo, I…"_

And then it felt like a beam of white light was piercing his brain. Everything came flooding back to Raphael, memories of his family, the feel of the wind on his shoulders, his bike, the crash…

And suddenly Raphael didn't want the darkness to take him away anymore. _I'm not going to leave my brothers! _Raphael thought fiercely. _I will NOT leave them! I can't do this to them, to our family!_

Other voices joined the first one, begging with him, pleading for him to wake up. With each thought, with each new voice, it felt like an invisible rope was being thrown over Raphael, tying him to the earth, fighting against the darkness that was trying to creep back in and steal him away.

_I can take all your pain away, _the whispery voice of the darkness called out to him. _I can make it all go away._

_No! _Raphael shouted as he struggled. _Stay away!_

_Raphie, hold on bro. Hold on, please!_

_Raph, come on Raph you have to fight this. Come on bro, fight it!_

_Raphael. Raphael stay with us. Don't let the darkness win._

_Raph, come on Raph. Come on buddy, you gotta wake up man._

_Come on Raph, please, wake up Raphael!_

_My son. You must fight it Raphael. Fight it with everything you have, my son…_

"_No!" _Raphael screamed and with everything he could muster, pushed the darkness away from him. _"It's NOT my time to go!" _He yelled at the inky mass. _"It's not my turn!"_

It felt like there was a strong wind trying to pull him away from the comforting voices. The sound roared in his ears and ripped at his flesh. Raphael was breathing heavily. He forced himself to ignore the beckoning darkness, the pain, the wind, focusing instead on the voices that were still anchoring him, holding him back from the abyss and oblivion.

_Fight it my son. Fight it!_

Screaming and pulling with everything he had, Raphael snapped away from the darkness. It felt like he was falling…falling…falling…

Raphael opened his eyes.


	11. Chapter 11

-Redemption-

**Summary:** Takes place during the 2007 CGI movie. Leo finds out who the Night Watcher is in a completely different way...

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the turtles. *Imagines what it would be like if I did and grins evilly*

A/n: Sorry for leaving you all off like that, I just love cliff hangers! Thankfully I finally know what direction I want to take this story in, so writing for it should be a whole lot easier. Plus, it helps now that my Muse is working. Right now it won't turn off! Must…write…next…chapter…!

**Warnings for swearing and blood. **

* * *

April's breath hitched as she stared down in disbelief at Raphael, her mind and body going numb and freezing with horror and shock.

"Raphael?" She whispered softly, her words shattering the deathly silence that had washed over them.

"He…no," Casey breathed out in shock, staring disbelievingly down at his friend, his _best _friend. "He's…no…he can't be dead!"

The numbness that had been gripping them both seemed to shatter at that moment, as panic unfroze their blood and spurred their minds and bodies into overdrive.

"No!" April screamed, suddenly launching herself at Raphael's prone, still form. Nudging his legs apart for more room, April quickly climbed up onto the back seat and settled herself between Raphael's legs, her chest rising and falling with sharp breaths that never seemed to reach her lungs. Strands of hair fell out of her bun and hung in sweaty strands in front of her eyes and across her face. She was sure she had leaves and twigs mattered in her hair as well, but she didn't care. Her mind was now focused solely on the task of bringing Raphael back.

Blocking out the ghastly black and blue bruises that mottled his chest, and pushing aside the fact that he had broken ribs, April leaned forward and pressed her hands over his heart. She started to perform frantic CPR, compressing down on his chest several times before leaning forward, pinching his nose, and breathing into his open mouth. She ignored the taste of bile and blood that was in his mouth, instead repeating a prayer over and over again in her head as she worked frantically.

_Please Lord, don't take him way. Bring him back to us…please Raphael, wake up._

"Come on Raph," April muttered, moving to start compressing his chest again. "Come on…breathe damn it!"

"Don't do this to me buddy, don't do this," Casey said in a broken voice, his tears falling shamelessly onto Raphael's still form. "Come on buddy, breathe!"

"Please Raphael, please!" April whimpered, sliding forward again to breathe into his mouth, hoping, _praying, _that he could somehow hear her, would somehow find his way back to them.

April took a deep breath and leaned forward again, desperately trying to force air back into Raphael's still lungs.

April thought she felt a twitch under her, but didn't have enough time to think about it as Raphael suddenly gasped and arched up under her.

"Raphael!" April exclaimed, moving back and watching in disbelief and overwhelming relief as his chest shuddered as he inhaled a few shaky and unsteady breaths.

"You're alive!" Unable to contain her joy, April moved forward and wrapped her arms around Raphael's shoulders, pulling him towards her and kissing him in relief.

"A..pril?" Raphael coughed weakly, his voice strained and gruff as he slowly cracked his eyes open a few centimetres to look at her.

April thought she would never see those golden/amber orbs again. "Oh Raphael, thank God," she whispered, leaning her head against his chest and letting out the tears that she didn't even realize she had been holding. Her body shook as overpowering sobs of relief wracked her body.

"Wha…?" Before Raphael could fully comprehend, or even begin to understand what was happening around him, or where he was and why he was here, he felt a pair of familiar strong arms engulph him as Casey leaned down and hugged him tightly, burying his face into Raphael's shoulder.

"Raph…you're alive," he croaked in a broken voice, tears staining his face and falling onto Raphael's skin. "Thank God you're alive. I thought…I thought I'd lost you."

"Is…'kay," Raphael mumbled, his head drooping as he fought to keep his eyes open. "A..n't goin…nowheres…"

Casey pulled back from Raphael and smiled down at him with relief. "I'm glad to hear it."

* * *

Leo snapped awake, his world spinning around him. He was confused and disoriented, and it took him a few moments to figure out where he was and what had happened.

"Leo?" A pair of concerned baby blue eyes looked down at him from a familiar green face.

"Mikey?" Leo murmured, finding his voice scratchy and parched, like he had been screaming for a long time.

"Leo, are you okay bro? What happened? Donnie asked from the driver's seat, looking over the back at Leo, his eyes narrowed in concern.

"Yeah, what happened bro?" Mikey asked, resting a warm hand on Leo's shoulder and helping him sit up from the ground. "Your eyes liked rolled in the back of your head and you fainted. You started twitching and mumbling about something under your breath."

"How long was I out?" Leo asked calmly, taking a deep breath to calm his rattled nerves.

"About five minutes," Don replied. "We couldn't wake you up."

Leo nodded once, letting out a deep sigh before bowing his head to the floor and closing his eyes. "I…I don't know how to describe it. I just…I _felt _something. Something pulling me towards Raph. I could feel his conscious, and it was slowly slipping away. I think he…"

"Don't say it," Don interrupted him in a firm voice before he could finish. "We nearly there now."

Leo took a deep breath, willing his hands not to shake. He had to stay strong, for his brothers. He couldn't panic, his brothers needed a leader, and needed to know that he had things under control, though his heart was beating wildly against his ribcage and his brain was numb. In truth, he had _no idea _what to do, and that scared him. His brothers expected him to be the one who always had a solution to everything, and to make sure everything was alright.

He didn't think he was doing a good job of that at the moment.

He was broken out of his thoughts by Donnie's sudden exclamation.

"There they are!"

Sure enough, through the darkness of the late night, the battle-shell's headlights lit up the road ahead, shining a beacon on April's parked car, and the silhouettes moving inside.

Leo was up in an instant, and ran to the door and pulled it open quickly. He was instantly blasted with cold night air, sending goose-bumps along his skin and sending shivers down his spine.

Leo jumped out of the car, his feet hitting the rough asphalt before Donnie could even stop the car. As soon as he felt the rough texture of the road beneath his feet, Leo took off in the direction of April's car.

And then, it started to rain.


	12. Chapter 12

Redemption-

**Summary:** Takes place during the 2007 CGI movie. Leo finds out who the Night Watcher is in a completely different way...

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the turtles. *Imagines what it would be like if I did and grins evilly*

**A/n: **I would like to thank everyone who has read, favourite and reviewed this story so far. You're positive encouragement helps a lot!

**Warnings for swearing and blood. **

* * *

Leo ignored the rain. He ignored the way it hit his skin, like tiny shards of glass. He ignored the way it drenched his mask, and the way it made it stick annoyingly in his face. He ignored the shivers that raced across his skin from the contact of the icy cold water. His gaze was fixed solely on the car ahead of him, and his brother that was inside it.

He slipped a couple of times, and ended up scraping his skin on the harsh asphalt. His hands and knees were bleeding as a result, but he barely even noticed. He could dimly hear Michelangelo and Donatello a few metres behind him, and could practically _feel _the emotions coming from them. Worry, relief, fear, guilt, sadness.

It seemed like forever had passed. Every time Leo took a step closer to the car, the further away it appeared to be. He felt like he had been running for years, when in reality he had only been running for a few seconds.

He reached April's car, the metal catacomb that was standing silently in the rain, holding his brother prisoner. The rain made his grip slippery, as he tried to grab the handle of the door. Finally gripping it, he pulled it open with enough force to rip it off its hinges. A small part of his mind realized that to April and Casey, who were inside the car with Raph, he would look like a mad and deranged monster, banging on the window, ripping the door wide open, and standing there in the shadows with torrents of water dripping off him.

But he didn't particularly care at that moment. His hazel eyes acted like a search beam, piercing through the darkness until they landed on a form slumped on the back seat. Raphael, his brother.

Leo felt like a giant weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He had finally found his brother. His relief grew and turned into shock when he realized that his brother was looking around with amber slits, confused and disoriented, but most definitely alive and awake.

He made a choking noise in the back of his throat. It sounded like a whimper, a small strangled cry. Tears flooded his eyes and momentarily blinded him. His heart soared and felt like it had just grown wings.

"Raphael!" The cry was torn from his throat as he launched himself at his brother, wrapping his arms around him and pulling him close. Burying his head against Raphael's shoulder, he felt his whole body start to shake violently as it was overcome with heavy sobs of relief.

"Leo?" Raphael rasped in a broken voice, not sure if what he was seeing was real. Maybe he was just dreaming, or he was dead and didn't even realize it.

"It's okay," Leo murmured, pressing a kiss to his brother's cheek. "You're safe now. I'm right here."

"Raphie!"

Leo turned his head towards Mikey as his youngest brother reached the waiting car, his eyes alight with relief at the sight of seeing Raphael awake and talking, even if he _was _covered in bruises from head to toe.

"Hey…Mik..ey," Raph said in a broken, raspy voice. "Good…'ta see ya."

"Yeah, it's good to see you to bro," Mikey said with a soft smile.

Just then, Don approached the car, his face neutral as he got into 'doctor mode.'

"It's good to see you guys," Casey said in obvious relief. His eyes were still red and puffy from when he had been crying earlier, and his arms were still wrapped protectively around Raph.

"Come on," Donnie said, backing away from the car to give the others room to move. "We have to get him to the battle-shell, now."

April moved and hopped out of the car to give Leo and Casey room. Leo carefully took the blanket off Raph. The blanket had been covering his body, and Leo gasped when he removed it and saw the full extent of his brother's injuries. Mottled blue and black bruises covered his sweat-sleeked body, and drying gashes were starting to scab over. But it was his splintered leg that had Leo nearly reeling out of the van to empty the contents of his stomach. He couldn't even describe what he was seeing. His leg was just…mush, and bruised nearly completely black.

Taking a deep shuddering breath, Leo returned his eyes to Raph's, that were clouded over with pain and fighting to stay open. "It's going to be okay big guy; we'll get you out of this."

"I'll grab his arms if you grab his legs," Casey said, looking down at Leo.

Leo nodded and went pale. There was no way he would be able to touch Raph's legs, not without hurting his brother more. But there was no other way to get him to the battle-shell either.

"Sorry about this bro," Leo murmured, moving so that he was in a better position. "This is going to hurt a bit."

Raph took a shuddering breath as he closed his eyes and nodded grimly. He knew it was going to hurt. _Of course it was going to hurt. _But he could still pray, pray that it wouldn't, or that he would black out before he felt the worst of it.

"Okay, on the count of three," Leo said, his hands beginning to shake and get sweaty.

Casey nodded, tightening his grip around Raphael's shoulders.

"One,"

Leo moved down and gently took a hold of Raph's legs.

"Two,"

Raphael winced at the pain that shoot through his legs, but bit his lip to stop from crying out.

"Three!"

Leo and Casey both moved quickly, with Leo gripping onto Raph's legs and pulling him out of the car.

Raphael screamed and gripped Casey's arms as they maneuverer him out of the car and into the chilly rain.

"I'm sorry Raph, I'm so sorry," Leo repeated to him again and again. "I'm so sorry little brother."

Thankfully Don had parked the battle-shell close, and had already disappeared inside with April and Mikey to get things set up for Raph.

"Nearly there big guy," Casey murmured encouragements to the somewhat delirious turtle.

Raphael moaned in pain, his head rolling limply against Casey's chest as his eyes closed tightly from the pain of the short journey.

"Come on," Mikey called out from the open door of the battle-shell. "Donnie has everything ready."

Leo and Casey hurried over to the battle-shell. The rain was coming down harder now, and the wind had picked up, pulling at hair, clothes and bandana tails. Despite the cold weather, Raphael's skin was damp with sweat. His eyes were screwed up tightly and he had his teeth mashed together. Leo could tell that he wasn't unconscious yet, but he wasn't far off it. Adding renewed speed, Leo and Casey quickly moved Raphael out of the rain and into the waiting battle-shell.

"Lay him down over here," Donnie said as soon as they were in the car, not looking up from where he was crouching on the floor, surrounded by blankets and medical supplies from their first-aid kit.

Casey and Leo gently lowered Raphael onto the waiting blanket that had been spread out for him. Raphael groaned in pain from the movement, and Leo could see the veins bulging in his neck from the intensity of holding back his scream.

"Here, put this under his head," Don instructed, passing Leo a checked blanket.

Leo carefully held up Raph's head as he slipped the bundled blanket underneath, before slowly lowering him back down.

"I'm going to need some room," Don said as he picked up his first-aid kit and moved closer to Raphael.

Casey and Mikey instantly stepped back to give Don room. April hesitated, and moved to Raphael's other side so she wouldn't be in the way. Leo stayed where he was, crouched down beside Raphael. It was clear from his posture and body language that he wasn't going to budge an inch.

Don just sighed and worked around him, knowing that nothing he could say would get his brother to move away from their injured brother.

Don examined Raphael critically from head to toe, his face becoming more worried the further down his eyes travelled.

"Casey, I need you to drive back to the lair as fast as you can," Don instructed, tearing his gaze away from his brother long enough to look at Casey. "I don't have the right equipment here with me to do more than sterilize and wrap his wounds. I need to set his leg as soon as possible, before more damage is done to it."

"What can we do until then?" April asked, looking up at Don. She was gently stroking Raphael's cheek, offering as much comfort as she could.

"All we can do is try to lessen his pain with what we've got," Don sighed, frustrated and angry that there wasn't anything more they could do for Raph until they returned to the sewers.

Mikey inched towards Raphael slowly, his baby blue eyes wide and his movements slow and hesitant, like he was afraid he would cause Raphael pain by simply walking over to him.

"Raphael, Raphael," Leo whispered softly, placing his hand on Raphael's shoulder to let his brother know that he was there. "I know you don't want to, and I know it hurts, but you have to try and stay awake, okay?"

"Mm…try…," Raphael whispered, forcing his eyes open to small slits.

"You have to hold on bro," Mikey said in a shaking voice, crouching down next to Leo and placing his own hand on Raphael's forearm. "Please bro; hold on just a little while longer."

"K…Mi..Mi'ey," Raphael rasped, his eyes starting to flutter closed again, despite his best efforts to keep them open.

Casey looked over his shoulder at his best friend as he jumped behind the wheel. He quickly turned the key in the ignition, the engine roaring to life. Pressing his foot down on the accelerator, the battle-shell tore off down the road and into the night. April's van sat abandoned on the side of the road, growing smaller and smaller in the rear-view mirror.

Casey didn't even look back.

* * *

**A/n: **We're finally starting to get somewhere with this, which is good. Luckily I have most of the plots worked out for each chapter, so my writing will be a lot more organized and smoother going.

Feel free to leave a review; I love knowing what you guys think of this :)


	13. Chapter 13

-Redemption-

**Summary:** Takes place during the 2007 CGI movie. Leo finds out who the Night Watcher is in a completely different way...

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the turtles. *Imagines what it would be like if I did and grins evilly*

**A/n:** A big thanks to my new Beta **Amonraphoenix **for taking the time to read over my work and turn it into something worth reading. Also a shout out to her friend, **DarkUnderworld** for also having a read-over. A big thank you indeed you two!

**Warnings for swearing and blood and a hurt Raphie :(**

* * *

~Raphael's POV~

Everything hurt. It hurt to move any part of my body. It hurt to swallow and even just to _breathe. _It was painful to even keep my eyes open. I couldn't understand why they wanted me to keep them open when it hurt so much. _Didn't they realize that this simple action caused me pain? _I was too disoriented to listen to the logic behind their actions. I couldn't quite hear or understand their strangled apologies as they tried to gently move me; instead they caused pain to erupt over every inch of my mangled body.

_Why were they doing this? Why did they keep moving me? I asked myself plaintively._ I felt like a ragdoll; a broken toy lying limply in their arms, helpless to stop them from torturing me anymore.

My world was now filled with a cacophony of noises. Everything was so loud. I could hear the rain as it fell onto the road and onto my skin. It felt like I was being punched by an iron fist every time a cold drop landed on me. I could hear people panting and breathing heavily. It sounded like a tornado blowing right next to my ears. I could hear footsteps getting louder, and it was like the whole world was shaking. I could hear my own groans and whimpers, coming out as broken noises an animal would make if it were in agony...or dying.

A small part of my brain, the part that _wasn't _being consumed by agonizingly blinding pain, was telling me that I should be pushing these people away. I should be angry that they were treating me like a child. I should be angry that I _was _behaving like a snivelling child. I should be walking myself, not letting them carry me like an infant. I should be yelling at them that I was fine, and that I didn't need them to baby and coddle me. I shouldn't just be lying here whimpering and groaning pitifully in a pool of my own blood.

But even if I _wanted _to move myself, I couldn't. My body felt like it had been cut open, stuffed with lead, and then sewed back together inside out. My right leg felt like it was being squeezed in a hot vice covered in acid, crushing and burning it at the same time. It felt like someone had stabbed me in the lungs and ribs with their bare hands before trying to rip out the delicate flesh. _Why did it hurt so much to just simply breathe? _I screamed in my head. It felt like someone was trying to pull rusty barbed-wire through every cell of my body; and my head felt like someone was repeatedly hitting it with a crowbar.

I could feel the numbing darkness hovering over in the corner of my consciousness. All I had to do was reach out and touch it, and it would flow onto my skin like ink and make me forget everything. But every time I reached out for the comforting numbness of the inky void, a voice or movement would bring me jarringly back to the brutal present; shoving the welcoming darkness away from my outstretched, pleading fingers.

I couldn't understand why these people were being so cruel...so heartless. _Why couldn't they just leave me alone? _Every time I went back to try and grab the blessed void again, more voices and more movements would send it racing away from my fingertips, until it was so far away that I couldn't reach it, no matter how much I wanted to.

With each agonizing moment that passed, I became more aware of things around me. The pain was like the sun on a cloudy day; hidden at times, but always there. I started to hear and notice other things too. The rough calloused hands that were holding me tenderly; the warm breath of someone close that sent shivers across my skin. The feel of fabric under me, and the softness of a blanket cushioning my head.

Everything made more sense now. _My brothers must have found me. _I thought to myself in relief. We're in the battle-shell. Casey's driving at least thirty kilometres over the speed limit. Everyone is fussing over and touching me. Usually I hate being touched, but there's something comforting about their touches now that makes me _not _want to push them away.

April's somewhere to my left, gently stroking my cheek. The gesture feels foreign, but not exactly unpleasant. Mikey's leaning over my left side to. Touching me like I'm made of glass or something that could break at any moment.

I can hear Don shuffling around somewhere above my head, though I can't tell what he's doing exactly. And then there's Leo. He's sitting by my right side and holding my hand tightly in his own. His hand is warm and comforting. I can hear him telling me to keep my eyes open. It's hard to do, but I manage to open my eyes just enough to see out of. The light hurts my eyes, and is too bright so I quickly squeeze them closed again.

I can feel Don running his hands gently up and down my body and poking and prodding at my delicate flesh. It hurts and I try to tell him this, but all that comes out is another pitiful, anguished filled moan.

I can feel something rolling down my cheek, and Leo gently wipes it away. I wonder if it was sweat, blood or a tear.

I can hear Leo telling Casey to drive faster, and feel the rumbling of the engine as he complies at the request. I try to open my eyes again and just manage to pry them open the very tinniest of slits. I can just make out Leo's blurry face above mine. His brow is all scrunched up, and he has that look on his face whenever he's nervous or afraid. You don't see that a lot. Usually Leo's always in control and he schools his (features) into this blank expression most of the time. Now though, he's as easy to read as I am.

Thoughts of the fight we had before all this mess happened, spring unbidden to my mind, momentarily making me forget about the pain. I wince and grip Leo's hand tighter as the memories assault me, and my heart wrenches with guilt.

"_Why do you have to be so difficult all the time?" Leo snarled at me. _

"_Why can't ya' just leave me alone once in a while? Ever since ya' got back ya've been goin' on and on about you, about how sorry you are for not returning sooner. How you're a much better leader now. I swear ta' God Leo I can't breathe with you yelling at me every God damn hour of the day!" I hissed back. _

"_I'm not yelling at you, I'm trying to figure you out Raph. Your rogue attitude is doing nothing for your training or your family." Leo said in frustration._

"_What are ya' sayin'?" I asked him dangerously._

"_I'm saying that your constant anger and disregard for following my orders almost had us killed when we fought that monster on the roof the other night." He pointed out brutally which just made me angrier, mostly because I knew he was right, which made me furious. _"_You think I would purposely endanger my family? What the fuck is wrong with you? I would never hurt this family Leo, do you understand me?" I had questioned, stung by the accusation, turning to run so that I wouldn't have to face the accusation held within my brother's eyes. _

"_Raphael, get back here!"_

"_No! I'm done with you. I'm done with all of you!" I shouted at him, ashamed of my own actions and unable to deal with my brother's temper or my own._

I felt the hot sting of tears in my eyes and tried to push them back. _I would not cry damn it! I would not cry! _I repeated to myself in silent mantra.

And then all the pain, and the guilt I had been feeling from everything I had said, vanished. The pain of my injuries returned in full force, hitting me like a tonne of bricks.

I can't remember if I cried out or bucked, or kicked. I could still see Leo hovering anxiously over me. His eyes were wide and he was gripping my hand and telling me something, but his words seemed faint, like I was underwater and couldn't hear him properly. My vision was starting to grow more blurry and black dots flickered before my eyes, making the world hazy.

"I'm…sorry," I managed to croak out before the pain pulled me under and the black cloud took a hold of me as the world went black.

* * *

**A/n: **Don't forget to leave a review! I'd love to know what you thought thus-far :-)


	14. Chapter 14

-Redemption-

**Summary:** Takes place during the 2007 CGI movie. Leo finds out who the Night Watcher is in a completely different way...

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the turtles. *Imagines what it would be like if I did and grins evilly*

**A/n:** A big thanks to my Beta **Amonraphoenix **for taking the time to read over my work and turn it into something worth reading. Also a shout out to her friend, **DarkUnderworld** for also having a read-over. A big thank you indeed you two! Now, enjoy the angst!

* * *

~Leonardo's POV~

It felt like a millennial before we got back to the sewers, even with Casey's accelerated driving. With each minute that passed by, I grew more and more agitated. I felt like my body was wound tighter than a clock. Raph had thankfully fallen unconscious again a few minutes after we had gotten him into the battle-shell. His skin was a sickening shade of grey-green, and Donnie was worried that he was developing a fever. His body was wracked with violent shivers, yet his skin was sleek with sweat, and burning hot to the touch.

I think Donnie was worrying about infection, because he checked on Raph's wounds every three minutes, making sure they were clean and properly wrapped up as best they could be with the limited equipment we had available. My biggest concern however, was his leg. I couldn't believe what Raph's leg actually looked like. That's when I realized that it was more than just badly broken, it was _shattered. _His leg had been turned into so much shredded meat that it was barely recognizable as a leg anymore. I didn't know how we were going to get him all the way through the sewers and into the lair. Especially when moving him from April's car to the battle-shell had caused him such sever and agonizing pain; and that had only been five meters. This would take a lot longer, especially with the slow, cautionary pace we would have to take to get back to the lair.

I just prayed for once that Raphael would remain unconscious for the entire time, and be oblivious to their movements and the pain they were going to cause him.

I didn't have any more time to worry or try to form a half decent plan. At that moment Casey pulled up in front of the garage Donatello had disguised for us by making it look like part of the graffiti-covered wall, (complete with trash cans wielded to the door.)

Casey let the engine die and sighed, letting his shoulders slump in exhaustion. The sky was just starting to change from a deep midnight blue to an array of soft blues and pastel pinks, as the sun slowly started to rise. It was then that I realized how tired I really was, as well as realizing how tired everyone else would be too. We had heard the news about the accident at around 9:00 pm last night. We had left the lair soon after and had been searching for Raphael ever since. And once we had found him and got him into the battle-shell, it had been a thirty minute drive to get back here, although it felt like an eternity had passed. None of us had slept for over 24 hours, and I knew, with a deep sigh, that the night wasn't over for us yet. Not by a long shot.

"Okay." Don said, his tired voice breaking through the silence that had fallen once the rumble of the engine had died. "We have to get him down to the lair as fast and as carefully as we can."

I looked down at Raph, my hand still clutched tightly in his. I hadn't realized how cold my brother's hand had gotten.

"Leo, Mikey and Casey, you guys carry Raph down to the lair," Don was instructing, breaking through my reverie. "April and I will run ahead and inform Master Splinter of what's happening, and hopefully get things set up in the lab for Raph. Bring him straight there."

I looked at Mikey and Casey, nodding in agreement. There were flaws in the plan, complications, like how long it would take for us to get Raph out of the car and down into the sewers, and if the bacteria of the sewers would further infect his wounds. I also worried how painful the whole journey would be for Raph if he woke up, and I wasn't even sure if Don had all the right equipment to deal with Raphael's injuries.

But all of these things didn't matter in the end. It was the best plan we had and we didn't have time to try and form another.

April and Don jumped out of the battle-shell and disappeared into the dark garage at a run.

We had to start moving Raphael, now.

"Okay..." I breathed, not realizing how shaky my voice sounded. "Casey, you and Mikey get Raph's shoulders. Carry him between the two of you. I'm going to get his legs."

Casey and Mikey shuffled around until they were in position beside Raph. I sucked in a deep breath and leaned down to whisper in Raph's ear, not knowing if he could actually hear me or not.

"Hey buddy," I whispered softly. "We're back home now, but we're going to have to move you into the lair alright? This is going to hurt a lot... I'm sorry little brother." I gave Raph's hand a final, encouraging squeeze before I let go to get his legs. "Kay…" Raphael grunted through clenched teeth.

I felt my heart drop lower in my chest. He wasn't out of it, at least not completely, like I had hoped. So it looked like he _was _going to feel the journey after all.

Not wanting to delay moving him any longer, I quickly slid down to his legs, shifting so I had a good grip on him. Looking up to make sure Mikey and Casey were ready as well, I sucked in a deep breath.

"I'm sorry, Raph." I said before giving them the signal to lift all together in one smooth movement.

Raphael screamed. I had expected him to scream, but I hadn't expected the chilling sound to make me almost drop him. Gritting my teeth together and telling myself this was for the best, I gripped his legs tighter and shuffled out of the battle shell with Mikey and Casey supporting Raph's shoulders and his shell.

We had gotten him out of the vehicle, now we just had to get him through the sewers and into the lair, which was easier said than done.

"Come on." I said through clenched teeth, beginning a quick pace through the garage. Casey and Mikey quickly stumbled after me; supporting Raph as best as they could.

Raphael gasped in pain with each step that we took, our movements straining his already broken and battered body to the limit.

We got into the centre of the garage and I froze. I hadn't realized that to get Raphael down into the sewers, we'd have to go through a man-hole. Casey and Mikey came to the same horrified conclusion I did, because we all froze at the same time and shared a worried, desperate look.

"How are we going to get him down there?" Casey asked with wide eyes, his arms starting to shake under the strain of holding Raphael up. I forgot how heavy we were, especially Raphael.

"Lay him down carefully," I instructed hastily, realizing that we were wasting precious minutes... minutes Raphael might not have.

We carefully lowered Raphael to the cold, hard ground. Thankfully, Don had left the man-hole cover off for us, so that was one less thing we had to worry about.

"I'll go down there first," I said, thinking quickly. "You guys wait up here and lower Raphael down. I'll get him from below, and then once I've got him, you guys follow."

Casey and Mikey nodded, knowing there was no other way to do this. I was thinking about telling Raphael what the plan was, but by the agonized look on his scrunched up face, I didn't think he wanted to know.

I quickly scrambled down the man-hole, the familiar musty, stale smell of the sewers as familiar to me as my own katana blades. It was cold in the sewers, a lot colder than I would have liked it to be. It wasn't long before my skin was covered in goose-bumps and I quickly tried to rub some warmth back into my body. The dirty, rank sewer water came up just past my calves. Luckily, we would be able to keep Raphael clear of the foul water. I didn't even want to think about what would happen if any of the sewer water got into his wounds.

"Okay!" I called back up to the others, squinting through the darkness to the tiny hole of light above him. "Lower him down, gently!"

I heard the sound of movement before Mikey's voice called out; "Okay, we're lowering him down now!"

I heard Raph's screams before I saw him. His agonized cries echoed loudly around the empty, hollow space; making his cries of anguish sound that much louder, and resonating from everywhere at once.

Raph was finally, gently lowered down into my waiting arms. Casey and Mikey were grunting as they held onto his carapace and shoulders, whilst they gently tried to lower him further down without dropping him. I quickly moved forward and wrapped my arms around his waist, making sure I had a tight grip on him.

"Okay, you can let him go!" I shouted up to Casey and Mikey.

They slowly released him, and I braced myself as I took his full weight. I tried to support Raph and keep him out of the dirty water at the same time, while I waited desperately for Casey and Mikey to help me with my heavy burden.

Thankfully I didn't have to wait for long. Casey and Mikey quickly jumped down and instantly took hold of Raphael's scarred shell and shoulders again, grunting as they tried to get a firm grip.

"Sorry little brother," I whispered, trying to see Raph's face through the shadows. "We're nearly home now."

We started moving again, this time with more speed and urgency. Raphael had stopped making any sound, which could only mean he was getting worse and had fallen into blessed unconsciousness again. I could feel the tremors racing through his body and feel the heat coming off him in waves. I hoped his blossoming fever was not getting any worse, but I had a sinking feeling that it was.

I don't remember much of the journey, just bits and pieces. It took us another fifteen minutes to navigate through the twisted sewer maze and get back to the lair. Of course the fifteen minutes felt like days too long and by the time we got there, we were all panting and dripping with perspiration. My arms were shaking badly from holding Raphael for so long but I ignored it. Under the almost sickly yellow light of the only functioning sewer light, which is right outside the door to our lair, I could see Raphael better. It was at this moment that I realized I wished I wasn't able to get a look at my injured brother.

He was a lot more pale, even more so under the sickly hue of the light. His face was slack, and his lip was bleeding from where he had obviously been biting it to stop himself from crying out at the agonizing pain. His body glistened with sweat and his wounds were starting to bleed through the hasty applied bandages Don had wrapped around them in the battle-shell.

I quickly pulled the secret leaver to the lair. Home; a word you'd think would always be accompanied by a grateful sigh and a happy smile. This time however, seeing the lair, my home for seventeen years, I felt nothing but an impending doom. We had grown up here, shell we _made _this place what it is today. We all helped to make this a better home, to make it seem like we _weren't_ underground living in the sewers. A lot of things have taken place in this lair. We've fought in it, trained in it, eaten in as a family, _lived _in it as a family. Hell the kitchen even caught _fire _once after I tried to make toast. But never did I think I'd be bringing back a brother here to die.

_Don't think that, _I snapped at myself angrily. _He is __**not**__ going to die._

A familiar presence surrounded me and I broke out of my turbulent thoughts to look into the worried eyes of Master Splinter, who had hurried over as soon as we stepped through the door.

"My son…" His voice was raspy, and I could hear the unshed tears in it.

I felt a lump rise in my throat at the sight of Sensei clutching the hand of his dying son, whispering false encouragements that fell (upon) deaf ears.

"You must keep fighting, Raphael," Master Splinter whispered in Raph's ear. "You must not give up on your family…or yourself."

He squeezed Raph's arm once before stepping back to give us room to keep moving him towards the lab. Just then, Don emerged from the other room.

"Quick, bring him into my lab." He said, turning away and quickly retreating back into his lab now turned infirmary.

We don't exactly have what you would call a 'hospital bed' down here. The best we have is a sort of reclining chair, like those chairs that they have in the dentists. It's cold and hard and made of steel. As we brought Raph into the room, I could see that Donnie has tried to make it as comfortable as possible. A few old throw pillows and quilts were placed on the seat to make it a little less cold and hard. Beside the chair/operating table, Don had already set up a tray laden with bandages, ointments, rolls of thread, tweezers as well as other surgical tools and equipment I was unable to identify. We carefully lay Raphael down on the table/chair, adjusting him to make him as comfortable as we can. Don is racing around his lab, pulling various books off the messy shelves, gathering more equipment and wheeling out an IV drip line and what I can only assume was a crude heart rate monitor.

"Leo, I need you to get me some hot water," Don said, not looking up from his task of setting everything up.

I grabbed a nearby sterile metal bucket and quickly ran out to the kitchen, turning on the hot tap and waiting impatiently for the hot water to fill the bucket. Once the bucket had been filled, I quickly ran back into the lab, setting it down beside all the other equipment Don had set out.

"What do you want me to do now, Donnie?" I asked, forcing myself to look away from Raphael's prone form.

"Wait in the living room," Don said briskly without looking up from where he was skimming through a thick medical textbook.

"Wait, what?" I asked, not sure that I had heard him right.

"You heard me," Don said, looking up from his book to fix Casey, Mikey and I with a firm look. "You all need to wait out in the living room until I'm done."

"In case you haven't noticed, our brother is lying there possibly _dying _for all we know, and you just want _us to_ _wait in the living room)?" _I said incredulously, the harsh tone brought on by my worry for Raphael.

"Yes," Don said, an irritable look crossing his face. "And don't take that tone with me, Leonardo, in case you haven't noticed, Raph is _my _brother too. And what he needs right now is for me to help him as best as I can, and I can't do that with a crowded room full of worried family and friends."

"But-"Leo started to protest.

"You'll be in the other room," Don interrupted, holding up a hand to stop me from talking back. "April's going to help me in here as best she can. If anything happens, we'll let you know. But until then, you have to be the _leader _and look after everyone else."

I snapped my mouth shut, swallowing the words I had been about to say. I didn't want to admit it, but Don was right. There wasn't a lot I could do in here except be in the way. What Raphael needed was for me to give Don enough space to work in. I had a responsibility, as the leader, to also look after the rest of my family. But that was hard; knowing one of them may not survive the coming day.

"Okay." I said, but the word sounded strange and unfamiliar on my tongue. I swallowed down the lump that was lodged in my throat and forced myself to straighten my shoulders. "Come on guys, let's give Don his space."

Mikey and Casey cast a quick, final glance at Raphael, not wanting to leave his bedside either, before sighing in reluctant defeat and following me out of the room.

April passed us on the way out. She looked pale and her hands were shaking by her sides, but she had a determined look in her eyes.

"Hey." She whispered, placing a comforting hand on my arm, halting my footsteps. "He's going to be okay," she murmured encouragingly, giving my arm a gentle squeeze.

"Yeah, of course he is." I choked out, unable to look April in the eye; unable to express the gratitude for everything she had done for my brother and our family.

She gave my arm another quick squeeze before disappearing inside Don's lab, the door closing behind her with the loud _click _of the lock.

* * *

I had thought the journey to the lair had taken forever, but now forever had taken on a whole new meaning. I could hear each small _tick _of the clock; could hear each beat of my heart, pounding painfully in my chest; hear the restless footsteps on the worn floor. It felt as if everything was moving in slow motion. It was like the tiniest of sounds had been amplified to a near deafening roar. My throat was dry, despite having tried to drink a glass of water to sooth it.

Perspiration had broken out over my face, rolling down the back of my neck, my forehead, and into my eyes. My hands were sweaty and it felt like a humming bird was trapped inside my chest.

How long have we been out here, pacing restlessly around the small space that was our living room? Minutes? Hours? Days? I couldn't be sure anymore. Each time I glanced at the clock on the wall I never took in how much time had actually passed. It looked as if the hands were stuck where they were; stuck creeping towards the final minutes of Raph's life.

Casey was sitting in the armchair, elbows resting on his knees, which he kept bouncing in anxiety. Mikey was sitting on the main couch and looked like he had to pee. He kept trying to be still, but after a few attempts of trying and failing, he'd start moving again; small movements, like a hand fluttering absently against his leg, or his fingers drumming against the armrest, but movements never the less. Master Splinter was the only one who looked like he had any semblance of calm left. He sat cross-legged on the floor, hands resting on his knees, his eyes close and ears fixed towards the closed lab door.

Master Splinter was always calm, no matter what the situation was, now showed signs that he (too), was anxious and getting impatient. He was sitting a little stiffer than usual, and his ears were fixed in the direction of Don's lab. I could tell they were straining to pick up the slightest of sounds coming from the sealed room.

I saw Master Splinter stiffen a second before I heard it. Raphael's pained scream shattered the silence, and fell on us like a tsunami wave. Everyone in the room instantly stiffened as he continued to scream, long, agonized soul ripping screams that Don's thick lab door were unable to muffle.

I was about to race towards the door, when I felt a familiar furry paw rest on my shoulder and pull me back.

"Leonardo, you must stay here," Master Splinter said softly, his gaze torn and filled with pain.

"But, he needs me!" I yelled as another pain-filled scream tore through the air. "I have to go to him!"

"Leonardo," Master Splinter said more firmly. "You cannot disturb Donatello and April while they are working on your brother. I am confident that Donatello knows what he is doing, and is not intentionally causing your brother pain. You will stay here and comfort your brother."

My head snapped in the direction of the lab as another scream reached my ears. I could tell it pained Master Splinter not to be in there with his son, but I could tell he was trying to be brave and in control, for our sakes.

"Yes Sensei." I whispered, bowing my head in defeat.

Right then, I knew that turning my back on my brother's screams was the hardest thing I had ever done. Squeezing my eyes closed, I took a deep breath before slowly making my way over to Mikey, who was huddled up on the couch. His baby blue eyes were wide with fear, and his muscles coiled. I could see the few stray tears streaking down his cheeks and gently wiped them away.

"It's going to be okay, Mikey." I whispered, sitting down on the lounge beside him and pulling him in for a fierce hug. "It's going to be okay, Mikey."

I just wished that I could believe my own words.

* * *

~Normal POV~

Master Splinter watched with a heavy heart as his eldest son embraced his youngest son, pulling him against him and murmuring gentle encouragements. Mikey wrapped his arms tightly around his big brother and buried his head against Leo's shoulder, muffling the sobs that racked his body. Leo gently patted his shell and fought to keep his own tears at bay as he tried to calm Michelangelo down. Nearby Casey was furiously wiping his face with his sleeve and cringing guiltily every time Raphael's screams reached his ears.

Master Splinter sighed, and with a sinking heart, turned and walked towards his room. He needed to meditate. He had to be strong for Raphael, for his _family_. He hoped that once he entered the spirit world he would be able to find Raphael's spirit and help him through the obvious horrific pain he was enduring now.

Entering his room, he lit a few candles and knelt down on the floor, closing his eyes and trying to fall into a meditative trance.

But this was a hard thing to do when his son was screaming his lungs out in the next room.

* * *

**A/n: **More to come soon guys, I promise. You haven't seen anything yet! *Evil, sinister laugh*

Don't forget to leave a review!

Love and flowers,

~Cat


	15. Chapter 15

-Redemption-

**Summary:** Takes place during the 2007 CGI movie. Leo finds out who the Night Watcher is in a completely different way...

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the turtles. *Imagines what it would be like if I did and grins evilly*

**A/n:** A huge thank you to my wonderful beta **Amonrapheonix **for helping me out with this. Thank you for letting me pick your brains for ideas and for the great medical knowledge and input, and the time you have taken from your daily life to read over my work. Also a shout out to **DarkUnderworld **for helping.

Hope you guys like this long chapter and the story generally so far :)

* * *

~Normal POV~

It wasn't until the sun was going down in the sky the next day that April and Don finally emerged from the lab; ragged and drooping with exhaustion. April's hair was sticking out at odd angles, and falling messily onto her face, not even having enough energy to wipe the stray strands away. Her clothes were rumpled, her face drawn, pale, and dark circles rimmed her tired eyes. Donnie didn't look much better either. He looked as if he were dead on his feet, his bandana creased and hanging around his neck instead of over his tired, heavy eyes.

As soon as the others saw them, they all immediately leapt to their feet, despite their own exhaustion. None of them had been able to sleep either; not while their brother was screaming in pain in the next room.

"How is he?" Leo demanded anxiously, torn between brushing past Donnie and racing to Raphael's side, or staying behind to listen to his brother's prognoses.

Don sighed and rubbed his aching temples. He had a cramp in his hands, and he felt the sharp pull of the muscles in his neck and shoulders protesting with each movement. He tried to roll them to relieve some of the tension, but stopped after that failed to help.

"He's stable." Don answered softly to Leo's hanging question. "I've hooked him up to an IV, blood transfusion, and a ventilator plus a heart monitor, just to be on the safe side. He has a bad case of road-rash from where he skidded across the asphalt, as well as a nasty gash and concussion to his head. Thankfully, April was able to clean the wounds and disinfect them. There didn't appear to be any signs of infection and hopefully there won't be."

"That's good, right?' Mikey whispered hope beginning to show on his fearful face. "That there's no infection?"

"Yeah, Mikey, it's a good sign," Don attempted a smile that didn't quite reach his tired eyes.

"But?" Leo prodded, seeing the light fade from Don's eye, the small amount of hope wavering on Mikey's face at Leo's probing question.

Don sighed and rubbed his exhausted eyes, his head pounding. "For now he's in stable condition, which is good. If things go our way, he should be off the IV and blood drip within two weeks. But… his other injuries are more concerning.

"As well as receiving a bad bump to the head and a nasty case of road burn, Raph also broke a fair number of bones in the crash. His right arm is badly broken, and has sustained nerve, tissue and muscular damage. I've splintered it and he'll have to go through some physiotherapy to get it working properly again, but his arm should make a full recovery in time. He also has a broken left collar bone and a dislocated shoulder, which I was able to pop back into place. Five of his ribs are broken; three on the right side and two on the left side. His right orbital socket was cracked, both wrist and ankles were broken and he has a hairline fractured jaw. He also sustained a large crack through his carapace, dangerously close to the spinal column. I managed to repair it with epoxy and fibreglass until the shell can heal itself in time. But…his most concerning injury...is his right leg."

Leo swallowed, remembering the horrific image of Raphael's mangled right leg on the ride home. It had been bent at an unnatural angle, and so swollen and discoloured, that he couldn't tell where his thigh started and his calf ended.

"What about it?" Casey asked, breaking the tense silence that had momentarily fallen over them. Casey knew how bad Raph's leg was. After all, he had been there, holding him down while April had tried to set it. He had heard Raphael's agonizing screams first hand, and knew that it was bad, but he wasn't expecting Don's grim answer.

"Well…" Don said slowly, closing his eyes for a moment to collect himself before continuing. "His leg has sustained a great deal of damage, to his muscles and nerves, as well as tendons and ligaments. These injuries are bad enough on their own, but...his leg is broken in several places. My guess is he must have landed with all his weight on it at an incredible rate of speed. He has several fractures to his patella- his knee- and numerous fractures to his femur-his thigh. But…his tibia, the main bone in the calf… is completely shattered. We… April and I had to perform an extensive operation to pin his leg back together with steel-enforced metal pins, wire and plates, I luckily salvaged from an old medical supply run a few years back. We basically had to rebuild his tibia."

The others were deathly silent after Don had finished explaining Raphael's condition. Any and all hope that had previously been on Michelangelo's face, had vanished. His eyes were now hollow and bright with liquid horror, fear for his older brother burning hotly through him.

Casey sucked in a sharp breath, knowing that Raph's leg was bad, but not knowing it was _that _bad.

Leo's face had turned deathly pale green, and he swore his heart had stopped beating half way through Don's meticulous and grisly report. Swallowing down the lump of fear that had risen in his throat, he forced himself to ask the next dreaded question; the question that was on every one's mind. "Will he… will he be able to walk on it again?" He whispered roughly.

The others all looked at Don for an answer, their eyes pleading with the genius turtle, that there was _some _good news would come out of this horrifying mess.

Don tried to get some moisture back in his dry throat, swallowing painfully as all their pleading eyes fell on him, urging him, waiting for him to tell them that 'Yes, Raphael would be fine and would be running, jumping, and kicking before they knew it'. But he couldn't say that because he _knew _it was far more complicated than that, and he knew he couldn't lie to his brothers. He owed them the stark truth; especially after everything they'd been through last night.

"Honestly? I don't know," Don murmured sadly, unable to meet their hopeful gazes, so he turned his eyes to the floor instead. "The pins are going to have to stay in his leg for at least two months, and he'll be in a cast for even longer. He will have to go through some pretty intensive physiotherapy before he can even _attempt _to walk on it again."

"So at this stage you're saying, only time will tell?" Leo asked, fighting to keep his voice perfectly natural and calm.

"At this stage...yes," Don agreed slowly. "But for now, only Raphael will be able to decide if he will ever walk on it again."

Leo nodded and blinked back the hot tears that were threatening to escape. "Can I go and see him now?" He asked softly.

Don nodded an affirmative. "But if there's any change what-so-ever, call me in immediately."

Leo nodded in agreement and slowly made his way into Don's lab, where his brother was currently fighting to stay alive.

* * *

~Leonardo's POV~

I entered the dark room and quietly closed the door behind me. The room was silent except for the automatic beeping of the heart monitor and hiss of the ventilator Don had hooked up to Raphael. The air was thick with the coppery smell of stale blood, and the pungent, biting stench of disinfectant, and bleach. Which had been used to sterilize and disinfect the equipment both Donny and April had used during the operation.

Raphael was lying on the reclined chair/bed, a soft pillow tucked under his head, and a warm blanket draped over his limp body. Obviously Don had tried to make him as comfortable as possible; despite his current condition.

I slowly made my way over to the makeshift hospital bed, being careful not to trip on any of the wires and cords that haphazardly covered the ground, hooked up to the various machines, keeping my brother alive. April and Don must have lit a few candles after the operation to keep some soft light on in the room. Several tall candles burned on a small table next to Raph's bedside, hot wax running down the sides of the candles and hardening on the table's wooden surface.

It was then that I finally got a really good look at my brother, but secretly wished I hadn't.

Under the soft flickering glow of the candlelight Raph's skin looked waxy and pale, not at all its usual deep, rich emerald green hue. A large bandage was wrapped around his head, and the left side of his face was covered in gauze. His jaw was swollen and his one visible right eye was puffy and black. A thick bandage was wrapped around his chest, covering his collar bone and shoulder. Donnie had also wrapped his arm in a thick swath of bandages.

Sitting heavily on the seat, which was pulled up beside his bed, I slowly and carefully slid the blanket down, revealing more of my brother's bruised and broken body. Clean white bandages were wrapped around his ribs, and an IV was hooked up into the inside of his arm. Small plug-like things were placed on Raphael's chest, which were then hooked up to the heart monitor. The pulsing green line that travelled slowly across the screen reassured me that Raphael was still fighting to stay with us.

A ventilator tube had been shoved down his throat before being strapped into place over his mouth to help push oxygen into his bruised lungs. The sight of my brother, of my dear, strong, stubborn warrior of a brother, hooked up to so many machines, and covered in white bandages, made my breath hitch, and my heart sink heavily into my gut. Bracing myself for what was to come, I slowly pulled the blanket the rest of the way off, revealing Raphael's legs; and wished I hadn't.

His injured right leg was something that looked like it belonged in a medical soap opera, not in real life, and not on my younger brother. His leg was tightly bandaged with layers upon layers of gauze, tape and stretchy bandages wrapped securely around it. But even under all the layers, I could still make out the lumpy, misshapen leg. I felt bile rise into my mouth at the sight; because as bad as the sight of the misshapen leg was, the sight of the bumps which could only be the pins pushing up from under my brother's skin, and through the bandages; was worse, because I knew they were the only thing now holding Raph's leg together.

My eyes drifted and focused on the makeshift metal splint that April and Donnie had managed to construct, that wrapped all the way around his lower leg, holding it perfectly still and straight.

I couldn't look at it any more, not without getting light headed and queasy. I gently pulled the blanket back up and around my brother's neck, tucking it around him and stroking the right side of his face gently; He didn't even stir once.

It was at this moment when the guilt and the horror of everything that had happened finally sank in; and I couldn't take it anymore. My already broken heart shattered, I held my head in my hands, and sobbed; I sobbed out awful gut-wrenching sobs that hurt my chest and stole my breath away, because I knew that it should have been me lying there like that; not my younger brother.

* * *

~Mikey's POV~

Leo didn't say anything when he reappeared an hour later from Don's lab. Instead, he brushed straight past everyone and disappeared into his room, closing the door firmly behind him.

"Should... should someone go talk to him?" Casey ventured tentatively from where he was sitting anxiously on the couch.

"I don't think he wants company," Don replied softly, stifling a yawn and taking another sip of his strong, black coffee.

"Can...Can I go see Raphie now?" I asked softly, my voice shaking slightly. I slowly got to my feet and implored Donnie with my eyes, begging him to let me see my older brother.

"Sure, Mikey." Don replied softly, motioning with his coffee cup towards the lab door. "Just..." he hesitated for a moment before shaking his head. "Never mind. Just come and get me if his vitals change in any way or something starts beeping."

Not trusting myself to speak, I nodded and walked into Don's lab, closing the door gently behind me. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the weak light of the shadowy room.

I swallowed down the lump that had formed in my throat, and with cautious steps, I slowly advanced towards the middle of the room where Raphael lay, sickly pale and motionless, save for the miniscule movement of his chest rising and falling with each laboured, and forced breath of the ventilator. I carefully picked my way over the various cords that trailed along the floor and connected my brother to the machines that were keeping him alive.

Slowly I lowered myself into the chair that had been left at Raph's bedside; I finally exhaled the pent up breath I had stuck in my chest. Raphael looked far worse than I could ever have imagined. Bandages and gauze covered at least 80% of his body, if not more; and the 20% that was left uncovered, was dotted with mottled black and dark green bruises. A tube was shoved down his throat, was taped across his mouth, holding it in place as desperately needed oxygen was pushed into Raph's bruised and injured lungs. Some black cords were attached to Raph's chest, which were connected to a crudely constructed heart monitor. I stared at the thin, moving green line, shocked at how slow each rising movement was; that something so frail and weak looking could represent Raph's fiery life force. _What would happen if it stopped moving? _I wondered grimly.

_No, don't think that! _I snapped at myself horrified that the thought had even popped into my head. I dragged my eyes away from the IVs, the heart monitor, and the cords, not wanting to think that they were the only things standing between my brother and death.

_Raph will make it. He's strong and stubborn; he's not going to die. _I said to myself firmly, wanting to believe each and every word.

But looking at Raphie now, my strong, hot-headed brother, it didn't look like he would even make it through the rest of the night.

Seeing Raph this way made my heart twist painfully in my chest, and my stomach churn sickeningly in my gut. This wasn't how Raph should look. Raph was one of my big brothers. He was determined, headstrong and too damn obstinate to know when to quit or give up. He could take any hit that came his way, and walk away without a scratch. And even if he did manage to get hurt, he would barely flinch, even if he was in serious pain.

My older brother is the one who protected us from harm, who kept us safe and watched our backs. Raph was the one who could be backed up against the wall, with two dozen attackers trying to take him out, and still manage to take them all down instead. And I knew Raph wasn't perfect. He got angry sometimes, and yelled and pretended not to care about anything or anyone, but he always made room for me in his hammock when I had a nightmare. He would wrap his arms around me whenever I got scared, and would whisper that everything was going to be alright. And I would believe him, because I knew he would protect me and keep me safe, no matter what.

Sure he would growl at me when I pulled pranks on him, and would pin me down on the ground until I said 'uncle.' Or slap the back of my head if I said or did something foolish. But I always knew that no matter what, he would be there for me.

That was who Raph was, not this frail broken creature that looked like he would shatter like delicate glass at the slightest, most gentle of touches. This pale, sweaty, _ghost _was not my brother. It couldn't be.

I carefully grabbed his bandaged hand in my own and held it gently. It was warm, clammy and frail feeling. I wanted to squeeze his hand, to reassure him-even if he couldn't feel my hand in his- and that everything was going to be alright; no matter which path he chose to follow. But I couldn't, not without hurting him.

What I could see of his face, was moulted with bruises, his expression blank and oddly peaceful. His body was stiff, like his bones had been turned into steel rods.

I glanced down at the soft blanket that was covering my brother's leg and paled. The blanket was so carefully placed, laid out and put down with so much care that I instantly knew Leo had done it. Which meant he had seen Raph's leg.

The thought of Raph's leg made bile rise up in my throat and my stomach to clench painfully. I quickly turned around so that I had my shell to the shattered limb. I couldn't look at it. I... I couldn't, not without being violently sick.

My tongue felt like a piece of lead in my suddenly to dry mouth. I tried to swallow down the lump that seemed to be permanently lodged in my throat, and failed. Gripping Raph's hand a little tighter, I tried to force away the tears that stung my eyes.

"I've never told anyone this," I whispered, a tear managing to slide free and roll down my cheek and falling onto Raph's pillow. "But... I've always admired the Night Watcher. Seeing him... seeing you on the TV like that, saving the city every night... It's like you're a superhero. No, scratch that, you _are _a superhero. You save people and don't expect any praise or gratitude in return. You have an awesome bike, a really cool name and even a costume!" I gushed.

"And... Raph, the Night Watcher was my idol, was, and still is, my hero. I mean, you did something you didn't have to do; something the rest of us stopped doing, not because you wanted to, but because it's in your _blood. _You may not believe it, Raph, but even as just plain, old regular Raph, you've always been my hero. You protect me, us, and nothing ever seems to scare you. So you have to promise me...promise me, Raph, that you're going to hold on and fight. Because I need my hero again," I said in a broken whisper, tears blurring my vision and rolling freely down my cheeks.

I forced myself to take a deep, slow breath. I was _not _going to break down, not here, not like this, and not in front of Raph.

"Hold on, bro...Just keep holding on, Night Watcher." I murmured quietly, a small ghost of a smile crossed my lips.

I don't know if it was the dim lighting, my imagination, or if I just conjured it up out of the need to believe that Raph could hear me, but I swore I saw Raph's mouth twitch into a smile.

* * *

~April's POV~

The lair was unusually quiet and eerily still whenever I came down here. I could always hear the boys moving about. I could always hear Mikey laughing at something he'd be watching on TV; which is more often than not, was turned up as high as it would go; without blowing the speakers or attracting the Foot somehow. I could always hear Donnie fidgeting in his lab, clanging bits of metal together, dropping heavy things on the floor, and occasionally, a small explosion from his lab could also be heard. I could always hear Raphael and Leo sparring in the dojo, the sounds of their barely reigned in punches echoing throughout the lair.

But I can't hear any of that tonight. It's just past six in the evening and I haven't slept for over twenty four hours. I only just helped Don finish Raphael's operation two hours ago, and all I want to do is have a hot shower and sleep for a week. But I know I can't sleep, not yet. Everyone is too stressed, too worried and anxious for me to just take a cat-nap on them. Leo was still sitting with Raphael, even though Donnie said that he probably wouldn't wake up for a few days and that was if we were lucky; once Donnie stopped giving Raph the medicine that was keeping him in his coma, that is.

Mikey's been helping Don in the garage. They just got back in a few minutes ago, having gone back out to the highway where Raphael had been involved in his horrifying, and brutal accident. They had tried to clean up all of the evidence of the crash that had been left behind. Don said something about cleaning the strip of road where there had been a line of Raphael's dried blood smeared across the asphalt, along with bits of scraped flesh. He had said they had found his bike and brought it back to the garage. But from the sound of Don's voice, I didn't want to see what was left of it.

Casey has been spending most of his time with Master Splinter, which was strange, but I think Master Splinter is teaching him how to meditate. He's been so full of rage, worry and anguish since he saw the news bulletin report. He had, after all, known that the Night Watcher had been Raphael all along.

And even though I was almost dead on my feet, and fighting to keep my eyes open, in spite of the large amount of coffee I had consumed; I knew I probably wouldn't be able to sleep. Not with the nightmares that were bound to haunt me. So, I set myself up with the simple task of making dinner for the night.

I stared absently at the stew boiling in the pot over the stove, my mind not set upon the task. No matter how hard I tried to forget, or push it away, thoughts of last night kept re-playing themselves in my head; distracting me from the present and throwing me unwillingly back into the past.

I remembered the way my heart was beating wildly against my ribcage, as Casey and I frantically searched throughout the cold night for any signs of Raphael. I remembered the way my heart lurched in my chest when I found him leaning against the rough bark of a tree; his body battered, broken and lifeless. It hadn't been until I had crouched down by his side, and felt the faint pulse beating beneath my shaking fingertips that I was able to breathe again.

I remembered the long hike back to where we had parked the car; the cold fear racing through my body, and the shock that had numbed my mind. The scramble in placing Raphael in the back seat, and realizing that the car was out of fuel. I could feel my blood freeze with horror when we cut Raph out of his suit and saw his bloodied and broken body, truly for the first time. I could hear Donnie's firm voice, telling me that I had to set his broken leg.

Even now I can still hear Raphael's anguished screams of pain, echoing around in my head, so loud, so clear, so blood curdling that I swear I am standing right next to him performing my gruesome task all over again.

The smell of something burning snapped me out of my troubled thoughts. A copious amount of thick, coiling, grey smoke was wafting up from the stew, which was now thick, black and burnt to the bottom of the pot. The smoke curled into my lungs, making me cough harshly as I tried to bat the smoke away. The smoke must have triggered the smoke alarm because suddenly the room was suddenly filled with a high pitched wail.

A sudden gentle hand on my shoulder makes me jump, wooden spoon clutched in my hand like a bat; not a very impressive weapon, but a weapon nonetheless.

"Oh, Master Splinter," I gasp in embarrassment, lowering the spoon quickly. "You scared me."

"I apologize, Miss O'Neil," Master Splinter rasped, the sound of the smoke alarm growing fainter before stopping completely.

I looked back over my shoulder at charred mess that had been our intended dinner. "I... I'm sorry," I stammered, dropping the spoon and rubbing my aching temples. "I got distracted. I didn't realize it was burning." I apologized softly.

"It is not your fault, Miss O'Neil," Master Splinter said kindly. "It has been a long day, and an even longer evening."

"I... I was thinking about Raph." I admitted, my voice suddenly shaking so much that I was stammering. I tried to fight back the familiar lump that had risen up into my throat. "About what happened and..."

"Come, sit," Master Splinter spoke up interrupting my hastily mumbled words. He gestured to the kitchen table.

I nodded and walked over to the table, slumping down into the seat. It felt so good to sit down, even on the hard wooden chair. I realized how little energy I had, and realized that I hadn't eaten anything in at least twelve hours, though it could have been more, I wasn't sure anymore. Time has ceased to have any meaning only that it had passed.

Master Splinter rested a furry paw gently over my pale hand, giving me a soft encouraging smile. "I know you are worried, Miss O'Neil, and I thank you and Casey both for doing what you did in bringing my son home to me. I know that it must have been very hard for the both of you."

I nodded, not trusting my voice at that moment.

"I believe that Raphael will be fine," Master Splinter went on. "He is strong and stubborn; he will not give in that easily, Miss O'Neil. Besides, he has you and Donatello around if things get worse."

"I'm not a doctor, Master Splinter," I said blushing slightly at the implication that I had been more than just another set of hands for Donnie.

"Perhaps not, but you have helped my son in more ways than one over the past twenty four hours," Master Splinter murmured quietly before straightening up and looking at me with his wise, old eyes. "Raphael's body is not the only thing that needs healing. His mind and spirit need time to heal as well, Miss O'Neil, but he _will _heal, in his own time."

"Thank you, Master Splinter," I whispered, even though I couldn't help thinking that Raphael, as strong and stubborn as he was, even he might be unable to pull through; not this time.

Looking deeply into Master Splinter's dark, weary eyes, I could see that even he did not quite believe his own words; but more hoped that they were true.

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**A/n: **More to come soon folks, it ain't over yet, not by a long shot ;)

Feel free to leave a review; I'd love to know what you thought!

The sky's the limit,

~Cat


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary:** Takes place during the 2007 CGI movie. Leo finds out who the Night Watcher is in a completely different way...

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the turtles. *Images what it would be like if I did and grins evilly*

**A/n:** Finally updating this. Sorry for the wait guys, had a new idea for this chapter, which my mazing beta readers, **Amonrpheonix** and **DarkUnderworld**. Thank you so much for our great ideas and your use of medical terms. I'd be lost without you :)And the beautiful cover was made by the amazing **TheThirdAetas.** Thank you so much for your lovely artwork :D

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-Redemption-

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~Normal POV~

Casey looked up from where he was pacing around the living room, hearing Don's lab door open. Michelangelo emerged; looking more bedraggled and despaired then when he was waiting to actually see Raphael.

"What happened?" Casey demanded, following the forlorn turtle through the living room and into the kitchen. "Is Raph okay?"

"Why don't you just go in and see for yourself?" Michelangelo muttered quietly, leaning with his hands against the counter, his shoulders slumped in defeat, head bowed.

Casey shifted anxiously from foot to foot, unsure of what to say or do. He wanted to go and see Raph; really wanted to see his friend again, even if he was grievously injured to the point where he might die. But from both Mikey's and Leo's reactions, a tiny worm of dread had crawled into Casey's stomach, making him ask himself if he really did want to go and see Raph for himself.

_Yes,_ Casey thought sternly to himself with a nod of his head. _I have to go see Raph. He's my best bud._ Casey didn't add to himself that once he had seen Raphael for himself, he'd know for sure if his friend was going to be okay...or not.

No one was in the living room as he strode past. Leo was still in his room, Master Splinter was meditating, April had gone out shopping for supplies and Don...well, hopefully Don was finally getting some much needed sleep.

Opening the door to Don's lab as quietly as he could, Casey stuck his head around the door and looked around the darkened room. There was no one in there apart from Raphael's slumped form on the table, wrapped nearly from head-to-toe in bandages and cords that hooked him up to various machines.

Stepping into the room and closing the door softly behind him, Casey swallowed down the nerves that had risen inside of him and carefully picked his way over to his best friend's side. An old blanket covered his legs from view, but exposed the rest of him. Casey winced at the colourful bruises that adorned Raphael's skin, and the stark whiteness of the bandages that stood out against his once, bright and vivid emerald green skin, which was now pale and tinted a sickly yellowish-green.

Casey could just see his chest rising and falling with the barest of breaths, not much, but reassuring none-the-less. Because Casey knew that as long as Raphael was breathing, he had a chance to pull through, no matter how slim or how many odds lay stacked against him.

Slumping into the vacant chair by Raph's bedside, Casey only just realized how utterly exhausted he was. He couldn't remember the last time he had slept properly. He knew he had caught one or two hours on the couch the other night, but that was all. Rubbing his heavy, tired eyes, Casey picked up Raph's calloused, motionless hand in his own and squeezed it gently.

Casey stared at Raph's hand, his mind beginning to wander. Raphael always used his hands; he was much like Casey in the same way, never being able to keep still. Those hands would always be in motion; curled in angry fists, white knuckles slamming into his punching bag, or a Purple Dragon's face; hands moving with an unusual amount of grace and precision whenever he twirled his sai; hands clapping his brothers on the back, or hitting Mikey on the back of the head; hands curled lightly around a beer bottle as he sat back and relaxed with Casey...

His hands were calloused and battle scared, rough from many years of punching walls, fighting for survival and manipulating various weapons. The hand Casey held in his own now didn't look like Raph's, it was clammy and cold, limp and fragile looking.

"Come on Raph, you gotta pull through buddy," Casey whispered, leaning forward and clasping Raph's wilted hand more tightly in his own. "Raph, ya' just got to get better."

Raphael remained silent, motionless, and unresponsive; the faint rise and fall of his chest and the slow beeping of the heart monitor were the only indications to Casey that his best friend was still fighting to stay alive.

"Remember...remember the first time we met?" Casey asked, talking more to himself than to Raph. "At first I just thought you were some dude in a costume. I remember we were fighin' in an alley. You were tryin' to knock some sense into me...but I was too stubborn to listen. I'm...I'm glad you followed me to the park that night, Raph. You saved my sorry ass, but...you also became the best friend a guy could ever have. And... And I don't want to lose that, Raph...

"You have to recover; we gotta keep bustin' heads and fighting dirty scumbags. We'll find the people who did this to ya,' Raph, and make em' pay.

"Please, Raph...I need my best bud," Casey trailed off with a soft sob as memories of the accident washed back into his mind.

He could see what was left of Raph's beloved bike, now a twisted bit of smoking, dented metal. He could remember carrying Raph back up the slope to the waiting car. He could remember how heavy he was, and could remember that with every step he took, Raphael might not be breathing. He could remember the horror of having to hold his thrashing body down as April attempted to set his leg; the horror and fear that had consumed him and gripped him like a vice when Raphael had stopped breathing. He could remember the hopelessness as he tried to force air past cold, blood stained lips, down Raph's throat, and into his unresponsive lungs; and the moment of pure relief when Raphael managed to take a shuddering, gasping breath of precious air.

"Oh God," Casey choked as his body was wracked with sobs, a single tear slipping down his cheek and falling onto Raphael's own cheek.

He wanted Raphael to wake up, but knew that he couldn't, and wouldn't until Donatello decided that Raphael should be awake. Donatello had informed all of them that he would be in a medically induced coma for at least a month, if not longer, depending on how his injuries healed.

"Just...you'll get better. Soon you will be walkin' around and bustin' heads again. But you have ta bounce back first. So you fight. Ya 'hear me, Raph. You fight, cause you gotta. We'll never find out who did this to ya if you die on us, and then you'll be real pissed that you didn't get your revenge. So you'd better keep breathin'!" He hissed vehemently.

Casey sat silently for how long he wasn't sure. He had probably managed to even fall asleep, at least he believed he had, because a soft, but firm hand on his shoulder made him start awake in surprise.

He looked up into the tired, drawn face of Donatello who removed his hand and walked to Raphael, adjusting the blanket so that it covered his body again.

"Any change?" Casey asked hopefully, even though he knew there would be no change. The only change that could happen at the moment was if Raphael stopped breathing, or if his heart finally ceased beating. So technically, any change at this moment in time was something he would not wish for.

Donatello, of course, took his question in the way Casey had intended to ask it, and so just shook his head negative. "As long as there is no change, it's a good thing right now." Donatello's words echoed Casey's own grim thoughts, and so he just nodded in understanding as Donatello continued his thought. "Raphael's heart rate looks stable, the ventilator is breathing for him without problems, and most of his wounds have stopped bleeding through the bandages. All we can do now is wait and hope that he continues to improve."

Casey watched the bright green line jump its way across the heart monitor screen. He took a deep breath and sighed. It was not a comforted sigh, but it was also not a sigh of irritation; it was a sigh of bitter acceptance. There was nothing that he could do, but hope and pray that Raphael recovered.

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Donatello looked at Raphael's heart monitor in horror. His heart rate was much, much too high. Donatello could feel the worried eyes of his friends and family boring into him as he swore vehemently.

It had been three days since Raphael had been dragged into his infirmary a bloody, broken mess of mangled flesh and broken bones. Donatello had been terrified that Raphael would not live through the night; but he miraculously had. He had survived the long hours of surgery required to piece him back together again, but Donatello had known that even though the surgery had been a success, that his brother could still slip away from them into the haunting, chilling, oh-so-tempting arms of death.

Donatello had watched with some amount of relief as Raphael had improved slightly every day. Wounds began to heal, bruises had begun to fade, but these small improvements had slowly begun to be overshadowed by, larger more frightening concerns. Raphael's skin had not returned to its healthy emerald green; instead it remained a sickly disturbing shade of yellow-green which denoted sickness or infection. And now this same yellow-green skin-usually cool to the touch- now burned with intense fever.

"Donny?" Leonardo's shaking voice called him for the third time as Donatello ignored his oldest brother yet again. His mind was furiously trying to understand what was going on with Raphael, and he couldn't take the time to answer his oldest brother, because time was something he strongly believed he was short on.

Donatello looked at Raphael's yellow-green skin, his fevered body drenched in sweat, but shaking with cold; his too fast heartbeat and low blood pressure. "His kidney's are failing, his body is shutting down." Donatello said quickly rushing across the room tearing open a drawer and yanking out a fresh needle, ripping open the packaging before running back to Raphael's bedside.

"Donny?" Leonardo tried again, fear breaking through the usually calm tone of his voice.

"Leo, stop talking to me!" He snapped irritable; unable to completely calm his own fear that bubbled up within him, trying to overtake his mind, and numbing his shaking hands from performing the task at hand. Which was getting a blood sample as quickly as he could before his brother succumbed to what Donatello believed was septic shock.

He managed to find a vein, and with shaking hands pulled a sample of blood from his brother's arm. "Raph's kidneys are deteriorating, probably his liver and his lungs as well." He spoke quickly, not even bothering to keep the fear and panic from his voice as he rushed over to the blood analyser that he custom built and was placed in a corner of his lab. He just needed a positive reading. If he knew what was causing the shock, then he could administer the correct antibiotics to treat the infection that was causing Raphael's body to go into septic shock.

He ran Raphael's blood, the sudden long, drawn out tone from the heart monitor slicing through all of his thoughts. His head snapped around, his eyes confirming what his ears were already telling him.

"Get the defibrillator!" He yelled as he ran back to Raphael's side, his eyes frantically searching the steady, motionless green line that sped across the screen of the heart monitor. He adjusted the table so that Raphael now lay flat, deathly pale, and unmoving on the flat surface.

Someone -he didn't look, nor did he care who- placed the needles of the machine in his hands. The high pitched wine of the machine broke the deadly silence of the room. "Clear!" He shouted as he slammed the needles through his brother's plastron, hoping to drive the electrical charge through to his brother's heart more efficiently than a set of paddles would have done.

Raphael's body jumped from the table, only to settle back, the whine of the flat-line on the monitor only interrupted by the anguish sobs of horror and grief that came from his family.

"Don't you DARE die on me, Raphael!" Donatello snarled fiercely as he pulled the needles from his brother's body waiting for the machine to charge again. The whine reached its pitch and he tried again, the needles entering as they had before, jolting his brother's body upright before slamming back down onto the table, one arm hung loosely and swung back in forth the only way the dead can do.

Donatello looked at the monitor desperately and noticed no change, just the steady continuous tone of the flat-line filling his ears with the clamouring of his own failure.

Leonardo's hand gripped his shoulder, his brother's fingers like icy claws digging into his flesh. "He...it's okay, Donny, you did... everything that...you could… He's in a better place… without pain." Leonardo whispered comfortingly, as if accepting Raphael's death as an option.

A numb disbelief settled around his shoulders, and he shook his head back and forth in denial. He was not giving up, not yet. He couldn't. He couldn't accept Raphael's death, not yet, not until he felt that all hope was truly lost. He twisted the dial on the machine to the highest setting, shrugging off Leonardo's comforting grip. "Charging," He barked firmly.

"Donny…" Leonardo tried softly.

"I said charging." Donatello snapped, his sole focus on his hot-headed brother who had always fought to live, no matter the odds stacked against him; Raph would want him to keep fighting for him.

One final time he plunged the needles through Raphael's hard, protective plastron and shot the pulse of electricity through his already abused body. His body jumped and lay unmoving, but this time there was a small, weak beep of the monitor that was followed by a stronger beep. But Donatello knew it wasn't good enough. Raphael's body was still shutting down, and he did not have the time to figure out what type of bacterial infection had permeated his brother's system, setting off the chain reaction that caused the sepsis to occur.

Donatello powered off the defibrillator and threw down the needles as he ran towards his fridge. He pulled open the door, his eyes frantically searching the names of the antibiotics that were scrawled across each bag. It was like a hellish game of Russian Roulette. His hand darted out snatching up a bag, slamming the door of the fridge closed he ran back to Raphael's bedside. His shaking fingers managed to place the bag on the metal stand. He quickly hooked up the bag to the IV that was already dripping into Raphael's arm.

He took a step back and tried not to break into tears, but felt the salty wetness slip down his cheeks anyway.

"My, Son?" His father inquired in a voice that shook with stress and grief.

"He... I...I..." Donatello whispered wretchedly. "I may have just killed him." He said as he watched the clear liquid drip down and run into Raphael's arm. Each drop could be salvation, or poison.

"Donny?" Leonardo's voice was thready and faint. Donatello's eyes shot to his oldest brother who looked to be hanging on by the thinnest threads of hope. Damp tears had already streaked their way across Leonardo's cheeks, his cerulean mask now stained a dark indigo with grief.

"Raphael has an infection, his body is trying to... to fight that infection, but this response has turned into sepsis, which causing dangerously low blood pressure. Not enough oxygenated blood is getting to Raph's organs so they are shutting down." He whispered miserably. "I didn't have enough time to get the results of the blood test I am performing, Raphael needed antibiotics now. Which means that I...if the antibiotics are the wrong type, they could kill him."

The still silence of the infirmary was painful. April's and Mikey's continued sobs and the heart monitor's steady weak blip of life, the only sounds that seemed to echo painfully around them; like a cacophonic dance of eternal slumber, fluttering around, teasing and taunting them with its thick, cloying, deadly presence.

"How long?" Leonardo's soft, grim voice broke the numbing trance that seemed to have enveloped everyone in the room.

Donatello bit his lip, hanging his head as if unable to quite grasp the finite concept of time. "We will know within the next few hours." His reply was forced out through a jaw too tightly clenched. "If...if I gave him the wrong antibiotics...there will be nothing I can do to bring him back this time," he whispered miserably.

At this moment in time, either the sepsis was killing Raphael or the antibiotics were, or -and this possibility was remote- he had managed to choose the right kind of antibiotics, in which case Raphael may be able to fight and pull through...

"But just... just in case... you...it may be a good idea to... to say goodbye," Donatello informed his family with a heavy, grief filled heart.

Somehow his words seemed to stun his family and their friends. It was as if he had placed the final nail upon Raphael's coffin and had his hammer was poised to strike the nail into the tender flesh of the wooden lid, ripping away all hope with brutal finality.

Leonardo was the first to recover, nodding grimly, his face pale but determined. He walked to their father and gently helped him over to the chair that was still pulled up next to Raphael's bedside.

Their father shook with grief, his fur damp with tears; he tried to stay as strong as he possibly could for his sons and their dear family friends.

Master Splinter talked softly to Raphael, clutching his frail, parchment tinged hand in his own, thin, fragile grip. Whatever his father said it was heartfelt but brief, as if he could feel heavy weight of the eyes that all watched him, waiting for their turn to say words that would tumble choke, and bite from their unwilling lips.

Master Splinter stood and waved away Leonardo's offer of assistance. Leonardo took up the abandoned seat, taking Raphael's hand delicately in his own; as if afraid his hand would shatter like precious china.

"Hey, Raph-"

The rest of Leonardo's words were drowned out by the blood that was suddenly rushing through his ears, and his heart which hammered too painfully in his chest. He felt as if his lungs had been put in a vice and someone was slowly crushing the air from these delicate organs. He couldn't catch his breath.

If Raphael died it was his fault, and now he was forcing his family and friends, one by one to march up to Raphael's slickly body, and tell him their final goodbyes. And yet he knew that he had no choice. Raphael might not be able to hear them, but if this one last goodbye gave his family and their friends comfort, it was something that he could at least give them.

He blinked when he realized that everyone was looking at him. Their eyes were red, cheeks wet, and shoulders hung in defeat, disbelief or some in bitter anger.

Donatello moved slowly towards Raphael's side. His feet like leaden weights he made it the short distance to his side. Donatello's eyes watched the heart monitor for a moment, and listened to the ventilator pushing air in and out of his brother's body, keeping him alive. He finally turned his attention to his brother's sickly yellow tinged face. He did not sit, would not allow himself that small luxury. He bent forward, not wanting to share his words of grief with anyone but the recipient.

"Raphie," his voice was faint, filled with regret and heavily laden with guilt. "I'm so sorry that... that I couldn't do more. And if...if the antibiotics were the wrong ones...I tried, Raphie. I did everything I could and I can only hope you don't...that you don't hate me," he whispered wretchedly. "I love you, Big Bro." He gently brushed his fingers across his brother's sweat slick forehead and stepped back.

He dashed the tears from his eyes, not sure how long it had taken them all to say goodbye -half an hour, an hour, two? - or how long he alone had spent bent over Raphael, pleading with his brother not to die, and begging whatever gods, or beings that controlled such things as fate, destiny and chance, that he had chosen the correct antibiotic.

The sound of his printer firing to life pulled him from his mind numbing thoughts. He looked over his shoulder and stared at the crisp, white sheet of paper that held the answer to the very question that tormented him.

He walked slowly to the printer, frightened to read the results, too frightened not to. He reached out a trembling hand taking up the sheet. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't think, and his stomach churned with icy dread. His eyes scanned the results and he felt the paper slip through numb fingers, where it fluttered unheeded to the floor.

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**A/n: **Next chapter is written and nearly ready to upload. I just have to go back over it first and make sure there aren't any mistakes ;)

Let me know what you guys thought!

Till next time,

~Cat


	17. Chapter 17

**A/n: **Sorry for any confusion guys, but I accidentally uploaded chapter 17 thinking that my two amazing Betas, **Amonrapheonix** and **DarkUnderworld **had beted for me. So sorry guys! And sorry it's taken me so long to replace this chapter with the _edited _one; I've been so busy and so sick! Apologies again.

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~Normal POV~

Donatello didn't even feel the paper flutter to the floor. His legs shook and they nearly collapsed underneath him. His horrified mind vaguely acknowledged that he had -by some small miracle- given his brother the correct antibiotics, but that seemed to be an extremely small almost insignificant victory, because his brother had begun to bleed.

Blood began to slowly run down Raphael's face, from his nostrils his ears and even his eyes. "No," Donatello said shaking his head in denial. "No!" he shouted as he rushed over to Raphael's side, pushing his frightened, horrified and confused family members aside.

"April!" Donatello shouted trying to reign in his panic as Raphael began to convulse. "He's seizing." He shouted feeling the blood drain from his face as he looked at his older brother in terror. "Leo, lay him flat and hold him down lightly, just enough to stop him from hurting himself." He looked desperately at April. Donatello blinked back the tears that threatened to fall.

"Donny?" April asked gently, her voice quavering with emotion.

"I gave him the correct antibiotics," he told his family quickly. "But he's having a seizure and where he's bleeding, he could be suffering from an aneurysm. A blood vessel in his brain was probably damaged during the accident, and it is only presenting itself now. It...it must of burst and the only way to treat it, is to open his skull and operate."

Absolute silence greeted his pronouncement, but Donatello didn't have time to try to reassure his family that he would be able to save Raphael's life, because if he didn't move as quickly as he could, his brother was going to die.

Everyone stated talking at once; panic filling the room with sobs and cries of denial.

"Please!" Donatello could only manage to get this one word out, a few stray tears running down his cheeks as he motioned for everyone to get moving.

Donatello choked back a sob as Leo continued to hold Raphael's thrashing body as still as he could. April had begun scrubbing herself down, while Master Splinter ushered everyone else from the room.

Casey looked utterly shocked; Michelangelo looked like a kicked puppy; and Master Splinter looked grim, but resigned. Donatello knew that their father would hang onto hope that his son would survive, but it was as if even he was stretched too thin, too tired of trying to hold onto hope to even grasp at the last thread that had been offered.

Donatello took a deep steadying breath as Leonardo pulled himself away from Raphael, whose body had stopped thrashing.

"Leo, I need your help." Donatello's voice came out shaky and raspy.

"Donny?" Leonardo asked, his voice filled with fear and worry.

"He'll die if I don't operate, Leo, but even then his chances aren't very good. He may recover, I might damage his brain further, or he may just die on my operating table, or a few hours later. I just don't know, Leo. All I know is that if I don't perform this surgery, he'll die right now."

Leonardo nodded, stepping back. "What do you want me to do?" He asked softly.

"Blood." Donatello stated firmly. "He's going to need lots of blood. I also need someone other than me and April to keep an eye on Raphael's vitals, make sure he keeps breathing, and his heart is still beating. I know I have the monitors, but I need to focus and April needs to help me, so I may not be able to hear them and I can't constantly look at them, so I need you to do that for me."

Leonardo nodded slowly as Donatello rushed around the room gathering up all of the medical supplies he would need as he shouted at April the correct dosage of anesthetic to give Raphael.

Donatello scrubbed up with his antimicrobial soap and slipped on a pair of operating gloves. His hands shook as he walked quickly back to Raphael's side. Raphael's mask had been removed. "His vitals look good, if anything starts dropping, yell."

Donatello knew he had to perform a cerebral angiogram to locate the aneurysm before he would be able to operate on Raphael's brain.

"Leo, wheel that machine over to me." Donatello said motioning with his beak at an imaging machine that would allow Donatello to see the small flexible catheter he was going to thread through Raphael's femoral artery, past his heart and into his brain, where he would inject a dye which would show him exactly where the aneurysm was located.

Donatello made a small incision in Raphael's leg and into the artery. Inserting the tubing he plugged slowly began threading in through his brother's body, finally injecting the dye into his brother's brain. He removed the catheter and stitched up the artery and his brother's leg as he slowly watched the dye work its way through the blood spider web network of cranial blood vessels.

One blood vessel bloomed and Donatello realized he had found the location of the aneurism, nestled in his left parietal lobe, very close to the temporal lobe.

Donatello got Leonardo to move the imaging machine out of the way as he picked up a scalpel. He carefully sliced into the flesh and skin covering his brother's skull over the place where the aneurism was and peeled back the epidermis, exposing glistering white bone underneath. Next he picked up the small electric bone cutter with a spinning blade.

He turned on the switch the blade starting to whir, making a high pitch whine. Leonardo went three shades paler, his skin turning a ghastly grey-green colour, but Donatello had no time to make sure his oldest brother could hold it together. Each and every second he wasted only increased the chances of Raphael having brain damage, or just simply dying.

Donatello slowly edged the blade closer to his brother's scalp. The blade bit easily cut through the tough bone. He had to be ever so careful that he didn't go too far and cut into Raphael's brain. Donatello cut a sizeable hole in Raphael's head, removing the chunk of his skull and taking up a scalpel, carefully cutting through the membrane that surrounded the tissue of the brain.

Blood bubbled up and out releasing the blood and lessening the pressure that was being exacted upon Raphael's brain. Donatello cleared away some of the blood and was able to identify the aneurysm.

"Donny!" Leonardo's panicked voice managed to pierce through his intense concentration.

Donatello quickly glanced up at Raphael's vitals, which were dipping slightly but still stable. Donatello nodded letting Leonardo know that Raphael was okay and to keep monitoring him.

"April, clip," he said as he held out his hand pointing to a small titanium clip that looked much like a piece of coiled wire. He would use to cut off the blood supply to the aneurism. He then planned on harvesting a bypass graft -a small thoracic blood vessel- to repair damage to the blood vessel that had the aneurysm.

Donatello worked steadily each minute that passed felt another nail in Raphael's coffin. He was moving as quickly as he could, but acknowledging that if he moved too quickly, he could slip and damage Raphael's brain. Donatello would never be able to forgive himself if he managed to save Raphael's life, but gave him brain damage in return.

Donatello wiped a shaky hand across his forehead as he placed the final stitch in Raphael's scalp. He had managed to repair the damage and place the piece of skull cut from Raphael's head back in place using screws and small metal plates to hold it in position.

Donatello pulled the gloves from his hands and watched the slow steady beat of Raphael's heart on the heart monitor. There had been a few dips in blood pressure and his heart rate, but overall Raphael had managed to make it through the surgery without too much trouble.

Of course, he knew that Raphael wasn't out of the woods yet, not by a long shot; in fact Raphael's chances of recovery were so low at the moment that he hadn't even been brave enough to tell his family the news.

Donatello walked over to the sink to wash up, letting April begin the arduous task of cleaning and sterilizing all of his medical equipment. Donatello wanted to fall into bed and preferably sleep for a week, but he knew he would be lucky to snatch a few hours of sleep within the next twenty-four hours.

He managed to gather his family and their friends together in the living room. This was of course an easy task since everyone who was waiting for the surgery to be finished, had spent the past four hours sitting in the living room. No one wanted to move in case something happened.

Donatello looked into the worried faces of his friends and family. He had already performed this action more over the past two weeks than he would have ever thought he would do in his entire life-time. Constantly giving his family horrible, grim, depressing news was beginning to weigh heavily upon him.

Donatello cleared his throat slightly, not to silence anyone for the room was painfully quiet, all of the occupants waiting with fearful patience for Donatello to deliver his news.

Donatello swallowed and then began to speak. "I was able to isolate the aneurysm and repair the blood vessel, but..." Donatello took a deep breath. "All we can do is wait. This type of surgery has risks of causing permanent brain damage and even death. I want all of you to be prepared. It is possible that when Raph wakes up, he might not know who we are, or where his is. He may not be able to speak or even walk..." Donatello's voice trailed off into the worried, grim silence that filled the room. The hushed, bleak quiet was suffocating.

April pulled herself away from where she had been encircled in Casey's arms. She walked over to Donatello and pulled him into a tight embrace. "Raph will be okay, Donny," she whispered to him comfortingly. "You did everything you could, now it's all up to him," she finished softly in a soothing voice.

Donatello nodded glumly, knowing that April's words were painfully accurate.

* * *

It had been a little over a month and Casey felt as if he was giving up on his friend. The problem was that he couldn't help it. They had been waiting patiently, knowing that Donatello had tried to wake Raphael up from his induced coma a week ago, but he hadn't woken. Donatello did not seem overly surprised by this turn of events. Donatello had informed them that Raphael had probably slipped into an actual coma, and that he would be unable to wake him up and that they would just have to wait. Unfortunately Casey was tired of waiting. He had been practically living at the lair since Raphael's accident and although he had no complaints, he just wanted to see his friend open his eyes, grin, and tell him he was going to be fine.

Instead, each and every day when Casey visited, he saw his friend getting thinner and thinner. Donatello had placed a feeding tube through Raphael's nostril and down his throat.

"Come on, Raph," Casey whispered softly. "Open your eyes damn it! I'm tired of looking at your sickly mug," Casey told him fiercely. Casey reached out and took Raphael's bony hand in his own. The hand that was now clutched in his own felt so frail and thin, not at all like the strong, firm hand he was used to seeing.

"Com'on, Bro, please. Hell, I'll take you just openin' your eyes, or twitching at this point. Anything!" Casey watched his friend who didn't respond to his desperate pleas.

Casey sighed, shoulders slumping and stood. He let go of Raphael's hand laying it back carefully on the cot.

Casey walked to the door. He stopped and looked over his shoulder one last time before leaving. He needed to get out of the lair, maybe out of the city for a bit. He couldn't take it anymore. He was going stir crazy and he felt so useless and powerless to help Raphael in any way.

Casey looked into Raphael's slightly parted amber eyes. Casey blinked in surprise. "Raph?" He questioned as his friends eyes slid closed again.

Casey turned and walked back to Raphael sitting down on the chair that had been pulled up next to Raphael's bedside. "Did you just open your eyes, Bro?" Casey asked him softly. Raphael made no movement and didn't acknowledge him again.

Casey sighed tiredly. He knew he should feel disappointed, but instead he felt hope soar within him. Raphael had opened his eyes.

"Come on Raph," Casey pleaded. "I miss going out and bustin' heads, watchin' baseball and hockey. Hell, I even miss fightin' with ya, you bonehead." Casey said gently.

Casey waited a few moments and hung his head in dejection.

"Don't be going all soft on me now, Case," a weak, raspy voice whispered wearily.

Casey's eyes snapped open as he stared in shocked disbelief as Raphael's eyes cracked open slightly, a sliver of burning amber as his mouth quipped up into a weak smile.

"Raph...you're awake," Casey whispered in disbelief, not entirely sure if he was merely dreaming this, and afraid that if this truly was a dream, it would end all too soon.

"Yeah," Raph replied weakly, his voice raw, hoarse and barely above a whisper.

Casey moved so quickly that Raphael hadn't even seen him move. One minute his friend was staring in shock above him, the next he had his strong arms wrapped around him, hugging him tightly.

"Case...ribs," Raph choked out, becoming increasingly annoyed at something that felt as if it was shoved up through his nose and down his throat.

"Oh, right, sorry," Casey said, letting go of Raphael hastily. A big grin slowly spread over his features and he felt more awake than he had in days. Raphael was finally awake, and though Casey knew he still had a long way to go, a feeling of relief so momentous crashed over him, leaving his tired and exhausted body buzzing with energy.

"Guys, come quick! Raph's finally awake!" Casey shouted loudly, not daring to take his eyes off of Raph for a second. Casey knew that Raph wasn't out of the woods yet, but he was damn near close.

* * *

~Normal POV~

A few weeks had gone by and ever so slowly, Raphael was starting to recover. The IVs, feeding tube and heart monitor had been taken off him a few days ago, and he was now able to eat small portions of food by himself and keep it down. The bruises that marred his skin had long since faded, and his broken bones were almost healed; that is, apart from his leg, which was still wrapped heavily in bandages and splintered.

The overwhelming relief that had hit everyone after hearing that Raphael was awake was starting to dim. After their initial shock and delight, Don had run a full set of medical tests and told them that Raph was doing very well, but still had a long way to go.

Don kept him heavily medicated with pain relievers, even though it didn't take his pain away completely, as was evident by his sweaty skin, clenched teeth and strained grimace. At night Don liked to sedate him, so that he would actually sleep. Raphael didn't like needles, sedatives or any kind of drugs, but after being in overwhelming pain for twenty minutes, he had reluctantly agreed to the drugs Donatello offered. But as the weeks went by, Don found he was able to slowly start to lower the amount of pain relievers he was administering to his brother.

It had been just over two weeks now since Raphael had woken from his coma, and Raphael was becoming increasingly agitated. If there was one thing the red-banded turtle hated more than drugs while being injured, was the fact that he couldn't do anything but lie in bed and stare at the same things day in and day out.

"Don, I've been in this bed fer' almost two months now, can't ya' just let me get up already?"

Don looked up from where he was carefully re-wrapping the bandages around Raph's bad leg, his chocolate brown eyes narrowing at his older brother.

"Raph, of those two months most of that time you spent in a coma," Donatello pointed out in exasperation. "And believe it or not, you aren't well enough to be up and walking around yet."

Raphael's right arm was still bandaged and supported in a tight sling. The bandages around his shoulder and collar bone had been removed, as well as the bandages from his face. His jaw was still a little sore and stiff, but it was, for the most part, better. The sever road rash that covered most of Raph's body was gone, and his ribs were still bandaged as was his broken hand and wrist. And of course, his bad leg was still heavily wrapped, pinned and splintered.

"I feel fine, Donnie," Raph grumbled, rolling his eyes at his brother. "I just want to stretch. My butt's so numb I can't even feel it anymore."

Don sighed and fixed his brother with a heated glare. "Raph, I don't think you know how hard these past two months have been on us. Do you know what it felt like for us after hearing the news report about the crash, and then hearing from a distraught April and Casey that the Night Watcher was you? They said the Night Watcher was dead, but that they couldn't find the body, and eventually gave up the search. The only reason they didn't find you was because we managed to find you first. You can't even begin to imagine the worry we felt when we saw what was left of your bike, and you were still missing somewhere in the woods, dying.

"Can you even understand the fear and terror we felt when April called us saying that she found you? Do you know how it felt when I had to listen through the phone as you screamed in agony as April tried to reset your leg? And you died, Raphael! Do you understand? YOU DIED! You're just lucky Casey and April knew how to administer CPR and were lucky enough to get you breathing again!" Donatello snarled angrily, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

Raphael flinched at the look and hung his head in shame."I'm sorry Donnie-"

"And that's not all!" Don snapped, eyes blazing with barely concealed emotions. Emotions he had hidden away from his family and kept to himself; emotions he hadn't wanted any of them to see. "Do you have any idea what it felt like, having to re-set and operate on your own brother's leg? To hook him up to a heart monitor and tell the rest of his brothers that you were probably going to die? You got an infection and nearly died. You suffered a seizure and a brain aneurysm. I had to open your head up and operate on your _**brain**__,_ Raphael. I was so scared that you were going to die on the table, and that when, hell, _if _you woke up, you were going to have brain damage. So let me tell you something, Raph, that was most horrific experience of my life! So when I say you're not well enough to be moving around, you had better just take my word for it and not argue!"

"I'm sorry, Donnie," Raph responded quietly, his head bowed as he stared down at his hands. "I...I never meant to cause so much trouble...to put you guys through this," He mumbled miserably.

Don's eyes softened as he rested a comforting hand on Raph's good knee. "It's not your fault, Raph. Donatello said gently as he took a deep breath. "I shouldn't have snapped at you. I'm just...tired, that's all."

"Thank you though, fer' you know...fixing me," Raphael mumbled again.

"Raph," Don said gently, tilting Raph's chin up so he was forced to meet his soft gaze.

"You're my brother; I wasn't just going to let you die." Donnie said gently.

"Maybe you should of," Raph whispered so quietly Don almost didn't hear him. "It would have saved yer' all a lot of trouble."

Don opened his mouth in shock and swallowed the lump that had risen up in his throat. Choosing to ignore the comment, he turned his attention back to wrapping Raph's leg. "You know you're going to have to tell us sometime, right? About what happened that night?"

Don watched as Raph gritted in his teeth and turned his heated gaze away, glaring at the opposite wall.

Don sighed quietly and finished wrapping the bandage around Raphael's leg. He had created a serum to inject into Raphael's leg to keep most of the limb completely numb after discovering that normal pain killers didn't do anything to dispel the agonizing pain of the shattered limb. Besides, it allowed him to frequently clean and wrap the wound without Raphael howling in anguish.

"How about this," Don said, making Raphael turn his head to look at his brother again.

"As long as you don't move your arm and keep your leg completely still, I'll help you out to the living room, but you will only be lying on the couch, that's it."

"Okay, Donnie," Raph agreed readily, please to be out of the stifling and confining bed.

Don nodded and walked over to the wall where a wheelchair had been placed. Raphael grimaced wanting to argue about being stuffed into a wheelchair, but he decided not to press his luck and kept his beak shut. Donatello wheeled the wheelchair to his side. Raphael wrapped his good arm around his shoulders, Don helped him ever so slowly into the wheelchair, supporting most of Raph's weight.

Raph hissed and scrunched his face up in pain as he settled into the seat. His still healing ribs aching in protest as his arms and legs began to throb.

"Are you okay?" Don asked in concern, prepared to lift him back into the bed.

"I'm fine," Raph growled out from behind clenched teeth. "Let's go."

Don silently cursed his stubborn brother, and slowly began to wheel his brother into the living room.

"Raph? What on earth are you doing?!" Leo exclaimed as he saw Don helping maneuver Raphael into the living room. Leaping to his feet he ran over to his brother's side, sending a questioning glare to Don.

"Relax, Fearless, m' just going ta' tha' couch," Raphael grumbled, teeth still clenched tightly in pain.

"Don, what-" Leo started to lecture.

"I said he could come rest on the couch for a bit, Leo," Don said, meeting his eldest brother's glare with his own.

Leo gritted his teeth but said nothing as Don wheeled Raph over to the couch. With the help of Donatello and Leonardo, Rapahel was moved from the wheelchair to the couch. Raphael sank gratefully onto the couch cushions, small droplets of sweat coating his brow. Don moved quickly and gently put a large pillow under Raph's bad leg and behind his head as he lay down.

"Thanks, Donnie," Raph mumbled, squeezing his brother's arm quickly before letting his hand flop onto his plastron.

"No problem, Raph," Donnie whispered, giving his brother's hand a quick squeeze before going to clean up in his lab.

Raphael sighed and leaned back against the sofa, his chest heaving with the effort to breathe. He had only moved from the bed to the couch and he was exhausted. But at least, he thought with grim satisfaction to himself, a sly smirk pulling the edges of his mouth up; it's a start.


	18. Chapter 18

-Redemption-

**Summary:** Takes place during the 2007 CGI movie. Leo finds out who the Night Watcher is in a completely different way...

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the turtles. *Images what it would be like if I did and grins evilly*

**A/n:** Hey guys...*looks around sheepishly*, I'm so sorry it has taken this long to update. I cannot begin to tell you how busy I have been and how very little inspiration I have had to write _anything _at all! I truly am sorry guys; hopefully things should start to pick up, with the end of the year quickly approaching and whatnot. Trust me guys, I am going to try my earnest to finish this story!

There are a few thankyous to give out however. One, a big thank you to **Amonrapheonix **and **DarkUnderworld, **for your endless patience and for sticking with me even after it has been so long. You guys are truly the best Beta readers this site could have and I just love working with you. You've really made this story shine.

And also, a big thank you to my readers who have stuck with me this far. Thank you for being faithfully and sticking with me, and all the ups and downs and cliff hangers in this story. Give yourself a big pat on the back guys, for inspiring me to just keep swimming :D

**Warnings for swearing **

* * *

_~Raphael's POV~_

It had been two weeks since Don had first helped me out of bed and onto the couch. It felt good to be out of his lab, and away from all the buzzing machines; reminders of weeks spent lying unconscious, and on the brink of death more times than my brothers and I cared to count. Also, the smell of antiseptic was starting to make me feel nauseous.

My leg still hurt like a bitch, still bound tightly in a cast and a splint; all held together by the metal hardware Don used to piece my mangled leg back together. I was able to move my arm a bit more, though it was still quite stiff. But Don said I was making progress, and that in a few months, I may even make a full recovery.

I was getting so damned sick of being stuck in bed for hours on end with everyone fussing over me. Don had agreed to help me over to the couch, (much to Leo's distaste,) but only after he had checked on my injuries like a worried mother hen every single day.

Mikey would often sit on the couch with me, talking animatedly for hours about a new comic book he had brought, or a new superhero movie he had seen.

Casey and April would visit occasionally too, offering to help around the lair and buy any supplies we needed. Casey often came around to talk to me, or give me a sports magazine or two. He knew I was starting to go crazy, being cooped up inside for this long. I was tempted to tell him once to make plans to sneak me out of here and up to the surface, but Leo had overheard this and had lectured me for an hour afterwards.

April had tried to get me into reading, hoping it would distract me for a while and take my minds off of things. I wasn't too keen on reading books, but April had brought me a murder mystery type book and I had to admit that I was actually enjoying it. I was already halfway through it.

Master Splinter tried to get me to meditate, so that I would 'stay calm', and gain more 'focus.' I kept my mouth shut and did some meditating with him and drank some of his herbal tea, but really all I wanted to do was punch my bag again, or do something, anything physical.

Leo was my most frequent visitor. He pretended to want to talk about motorcycles and boxing, things that interested me, but I could see the real questions burning in his eyes; _what happened? And who did this to you?_ But I ignored the unspoken questions. I didn't want to tell anyone about it; not yet anyway.

A few days passed and now here I was, sitting on the worn tatami mats in the candle-lit dojo, limbs sprawled awkwardly in front of me as Leo sat opposite me, studying me with calm, calculating eyes.

"Come on Raph, just try a little bit harder," Leo coaxed, gesturing to where I was attempting to reach out and touch my toes. A move that used to be as easy as breathing was now as hard as trying to look at the back of my shell.

"You try reachin' for yer' toes when you have bits of metal jammed in _your _leg," I spat out as I slowly stretching forward, only to pull back with a hiss as a sharp pain shot up my bad leg and pulsed through my still-stiff arm.

"It's okay, I think we've done all we can for today," Leo said, doing a pretty shitty job of keeping the pity out of his voice and eyes.

Don had finally given the okay to start my physiotherapy sessions, and so far, things weren't going to great. Don had instructed Leo and shown him the simple, supposedly gentle exercises I was to perform twice a day, every day, for the next two months. This was my sixth day, and so far, I had only succeeded in lowering myself to the ground on my own, and that _still _wore me out more than I cared to admit, even to myself.

Every time I moved the tiniest bit, or stretched my muscles in the slightest, a sharp, almost burning sensation would shoot up through my bad leg and arm, causing me to bite my lip and curse in pain. I mean, I knew it wasn't going to be easy, but I thought I could at least touch my stupid toes without being drenched in sweat by the end of the session.

"I got it, I ain't tired yet," I bit out, gritting my teeth together tightly, stretching out again to touch my toes; which seemed to be miles away instead of just inches. Pain radiated throughout my whole leg, making me growl in pain and irritation.

"It's okay, Raph, we can try again tomorrow." Leo said, placing his hand carefully on my bandaged leg.

"I said I'm fine!" I snapped, glaring at Leo and slapping his hand away from me. "I can do this."

"No you can't, Raph, not yet," Leo said, his patience starting to wear thin. "If you weren't so stubborn, maybe you wouldn't hurt yourself so much!"

"Oh, so now _I'm _the stubborn one? You seemed ta' be pretty damn stubborn when ya' got back from yer' jungle; bossin' us around an' tellin' us what to do all tha' time!"

"Oh what, so this is _my _fault now?" Leo asked incredulously. "Raph, I've done nothing but worry about you and trying to help you for the past two months, and you won't even tell me what happened that night!"

"Because it's none of yer' fuckin' business!" I snapped, anger radiating inside me, like a hot furnace.

"It is my business, Raph," Leo said, gritting his teeth in frustration. "You're my _brother. _I think I deserve to know what happened to you, considering you almost died!"

"You don't get it!" I shouted, the weeks of mounting frustration and lack of sleep taking its toll. "You never do."

Grabbing my crutches, I heaved myself painfully to my feet.

"Raphael, we are not done here!" Leo yelled, leaping quickly to his feet.

"Yes, we are," I snarled lowly, turning my back to Leo, I hobbled out of the room as fast as my good leg could carry me.

* * *

_~Hun's POV~_

Hun looked around the abandoned warehouse; pale beams of moonlight pooling on the dust-covered floor. It had been a month since his last operation had become a bust, and his old headquarters trashed. Now, he was going through the slow, very _annoying, _process of resettling all over again.

"Hey boss, don't ya' think we should finish tha' job? Ya' know, with those turtle freaks?"

Hun turned to face DragonFace, a scowl on his lips. "It's your fault we have to _finish _it in the first place! How could you not manage to kill the NightWatcher? The plan was fool-proof!"

"Sorry boss, we thought we had ganked 'im," DragonFace said, holding his hands out in a placating gesture. "We thought he'd gone over that guardrail boss."

"Well, he obviously didn't!" Hun snapped.

"We'll go ambush 'em boss," DragonFace said, "we know they live down in tha' 'll storm in there and gank 'em all at once."

"Gentlemen," a cold, familiar voice said from behind them. "I think I have a better idea…"

* * *

**A/n: **Did I just leave you all off at yet another cliff hanger, after not updating for so long? Why, I do believe I just did ;)

Sorry folks, until next time!

~Cat


	19. Chapter 19

**A/n: **As always, a big, big thank you to** Amonrapheonix** and **DarkUnderworld** for their patience and continued support for beta-ing this story. This chapter is for you guys :)

* * *

~_Leonardo's POV~_

I couldn't stop thinking about what Raphael had said during training. Not even now, four hours later. How could he think that what happened to him was none of my-none of _our _business? Two months. Two whole months of little to no sleep, of hardly eating or training; being trapped in a zombie-like state because every night I went to sleep on a wet pillow, unable to think of anything else other than wondering, hoping and praying that Raphael would manage to make it through the night.

I knew my brother was stubborn; he protected his pride like a bee protects its honey. He didn't like to show pain or weakness, even if he was about to pass out from his injuries. He didn't like accepting any help offered to him. He always shouldered any burden on his own. The only one he really ever opened up to was Casey.

Master Splinter invited April and Casey over for dinner tonight, as a way of saying thank you for everything they've done for us. We all know that Raphael wouldn't have made it if it weren't for them since they were the ones who had managed to find him.

Mikey set the food out on the table with a flourish and a wide grin. It had been awhile since he had last cooked, and I could tell that he was glad he was finally able to again. It was no secret that Mikey was a great cook, the best cook out of our family anyway.

"Ladies and gentlemen, dinner is served," Mikey said with a terrible Italian accent, pretending to kiss the air whilst making strange hand gestures.

"Looks good, Mikey." April smiled, looking down at the plate of food in front of her appreciatively.

"Eat up, there's plenty more where that came from," Mikey said with a wink.

"Oh, I plan to; don't worry about that, my Man," Casey said, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

"Casey, you'd eat anything that ya' got fer' free, an' lots of it," Raphael drawled from his seat across from me, his crutches leaning against his chair and his splinted leg sprawled awkwardly out in front of him.

"Hey, I'm a man who knows fine dining when he sees it," Casey defended himself, picking up his fork and stabbing it into his pasta.

"Oh yeah, you are the epitome of the fine dining connoisseur," April commented dryly, trying to hide her smirk behind her glass.

"What?" Casey asked in confusion, oblivious to the sauce that had dribbled down his chin.

Grinning, I reached for my glass of water, but stopped when I saw Raphael doing the same. He was reaching out for his glass with his right hand, his bad arm, whether he was doing this unconsciously or not, I didn't know.

With a small grunt he grasped the glass and brought it up to his lips, his hands shaking slightly.

And then, just as he was bringing the glass to his lips, the trembling in his hand grew more intense, sending large spasms through his arm. Raphael cursed, and the glass slipped from his hand, spilling cold water on his face and down the front of his plastron, the glass shattering on the table.

April gasped and jumped back in shock, a decent sized piece of glass landing in her pasta.

Raphael blushed furiously, strings of violent curses leaving his lips as he angrily wiped the water from his face.

"Here, Raph, let me help," Don said, trying to clean Raph off with his napkin.

"I'm fine," Raphael grumbled, trying to scoot away from Don's helping hands.

"Just hold still, Raph, I've nearly got it-"

"I said I'm fine!" Raphael barked sharply, slapping Don's offending hands away.

"Raph, it's okay, Donnie was just trying to help," Casey said, looking at his friend with obvious concern.

"Well I don't need his help," Raphael snarled, pulling himself awkwardly to his feet. "I don't need any of your help!"

I quickly got to my feet to stop Raphael, but one look at his furious expression and I remained rooted to the spot.

Grabbing his crutches, we all watched in shocked silence as Raphael hobbled out of the room as fast as he could. It wasn't until we heard the deafening _slam_of his bedroom door that anyone moved.

"I guess I'll get this cleaned up," Mikey muttered, his food left untouched and forgotten as he went to find a dustpan to clean up the shards of glass.

"Poor Raph," April murmured, staring down at the patterned table cloth. "I hope he gets better soon."

Catching Master Splinter's concerned gaze, I could tell he was thinking the same thing.

* * *

_~Normal POV~_

Casey cautiously headed out into the living room. They had finished cleaning up the mess at the kitchen table, but had all lost their appetites. Raphael was still shut up in his room, and everyone was happy to give him space until he calmed down. Though how he had managed to hobble up the stairs, to his room in the first place, Casey had no idea.

"Hey, Master Splinter, where is everyone?" Casey asked the aged rat.

Master Splinter looked up from his tea cup that lay untouched in his lap, blinking a few times as if he had just woken from a dream.

"Leonardo is meditating in the dojo, and I believe Michelangelo and Donatello went out on patrol an hour ago."

"Oh, cool," Casey said, rubbing the back of his neck as he tried to think of something to say.

"I apologize for what happened tonight, Mr. Jones," Splinter spoke up, and Casey could see the sorrow in his kind eyes. "Raphael is not adjusting well to these...changes."

"I understand. I mean, if that was me, I'd probably lose it a couple of times too."

Master Splinter sighed and bowed his head. "Raphael is strong, in many ways; it is only ironic that his strength is what is holding him back from recovering."

The sound of the lair door closing ended the conversation. Don and Mikey entered the room, their faces scrunched up with worry.

"What is it?" Leo asked, appearing from the dojo, looking exhausted. "Did you run into the Foot, or any Purple Dragons?"

Don shook his head. "That's what's weird Leo, we haven't seen or heard anything from the Foot or the Purple Dragons for a while now. It's like they just disappeared."

"That is strange," Leo said after a moment, "but there is nothing we can do about it."

"Do you think they're planning an attack?" Casey asked.

"I don't know," Leo said, "but maybe we should count their absence as a blessing. We already have enough things to worry about."

* * *

_~Purple Dragon Headquarters~_

Hun paced around the small room in agitation, his curses echoing around the small space.

"Where is he? Good for nothing piece of-"

"Hey now, why all the name calling?" A voice asked out of the darkness.

Hun whirled around to face the figure, a snarl on his lips. "We have given you all the supplies you've needed, and still you make us wait!" Hun pointed a meaty finger at the man.

"Now, now Hun, no need for that," the man laughed. "I admit I may have gone a little over schedule, but everything is finally ready. We shall attack tomorrow night."

* * *

**A/n: **Reviews are greatly appreciated; I'd love to know what you all thought. More to come soon!  
~Cat


	20. Chapter 20

**A/n: **Thank you **Amonrapheoni**x and **DarkUnderworld** for continuing to beta this story. It wouldn't be the same without you and I am grateful for your help.

* * *

Chapter Twenty  
_~Donatello's POV~_

"Alright Raph, slowly extend your leg forward." I coaxed gently.

"I can't it's all stiff," Raphael growled in frustration, glaring daggers down at his bandaged leg.

"Okay, if that's too hard, try to extend your arm for me," I said, carefully monitoring Raphael's movements, keeping my eyes open for any signs of pain.

Raphael slowly extended his arm forward, gritting his teeth in pain. I saw a spasm travel through his arm, making it twitch slightly, but he was able to hold the position, which was a good sign.

"Good, now try to rotate it out to the side," I instructed.

Raphael grunted and bit the inside of his cheek, but he managed to move his arm out to his side and held it straight with only the slightest quiver.

"That's really good, Raph," I smiled encouragingly, scribbling a few notes down in my notebook. "You're making progress."

"'Bout time," Raphael grumbled.

"Healing takes time, Raph," I explained patiently, feeling sympathy towards my brother. "The movement in your arm is coming along greatly. I'd give it another two to three weeks and you should be right as rain."

"An' what about my leg?" Raphael asked quietly. "How much longer will that take?"

I found myself avoiding my brother's eyes as I slowly started to re-dress his bandages.

"If we work on it every day, maybe three or four months," I mumbled quickly.

"Four months! You have to be fucking kidding?" Raph thundered in disbelief.

"I'm sorry, Raph," I sighed tiredly, leaning back in my chair. "But your leg injury is very complex. You're lucky I was able to fix it with pins. Any worse and I would have had to amputate it."

"Isn't there something you can do?" Raphael pleaded. "Some medicine I could take or something?"

"I'm sorry, Raph," I repeated. "Only time and patience."

* * *

_~Master Splinter's POV~_

I could not help but study my son closely as he moved awkwardly around the kitchen. Donatello had told me earlier this afternoon that Raphael's physiotherapy lesson had been tense, and my red-masked son had not liked the news that it would take a few months for him to fully recover; and even then he may still have a slight limp to his gait, possibly for life.

I could see the anger and frustration in Raphael's tense shoulders, and I knew, with a sinking feeling in my gut, that it would not be long until Raphael had another meltdown.

The incident that had occurred at the dinner table last week was still fresh in my mind, as I was sure it was still fresh in my son's. Raphael hated showing any signs of weakness, and last night we had all caught him in such a moment.

My heart went out to my second oldest son. I had nearly lost him, and I had no doubt that it was only his acute stubbornness that had kept him from leaving us that horrific night.

The sound of the kettle whistling broke through my thoughts and brought my attention back to the present.

"Raphael, could you please hand me my cup?" I asked quietly.

"Sure, Sensei," Raphael said, reaching up into the cupboard where all our glasses were kept.

I watched as he very carefully pulled down my usual tea mug. There was nothing particularly attractive about the mug. A long time ago, it had once been white. Now, it was a faded sort of yellow colour, and chipped in several places. Many would wonder why I would use such a cup, but the fact was that the cup is very dear to me; and one of my most prized possessions. It was a gift given to me by my sons for Christmas when they were just small children. They must have found it out on one of their romps through the sewers and brought it home. They had cleaned it with extra care, and had each drawn a little something on the sides of the cup. Leonardo had drawn a picture of a small turtle wearing a blue mask holding hands with an aged rat in a red robe. Donatello had drawn some sort of computer looking device. Michelangelo had drawn a smiley face and Raphael had drawn a bright red sun.

"Here ya' go, Sensei," Raphael said, slowly hobbling over to the table where I was sitting.

I could see the whole thing in my mind before it happened, like it was in slow motion. Raphael's grip on his crutches was strained, his weak arm starting to spasm. Stumbling on his good leg, he fell off balance and accidentally put his weight on his bad leg. A pained cry was ripped from his throat as his leg buckled awkwardly and he collapsed to the ground in a bone jarring heap. The cup went flying from his hands and landed with a splintering _crack_on the floor a few meters away. Chips of colourful porcelain went flying, catching the light and covering the floor like a cracked eggshell.

"Raphael, are you alright my son?" I asked anxiously as I quickly got to my feet and knelt next to my fallen son.

Raphael made a strangled noise in the back of his throat, which sounded like a pained sob. He ignored my words as he dragged himself over to where the shattered cup lay, picking up the broken pieces in shaking hands. On one piece, I could see half a red sun clutched in Raphael's dark green hands.

"I'm so sorry, Sensei!" Raphael gasped, trying to scoop up all the fragments and put them back together again. "I didn't mean-"

"It was an accident," I said soothingly, placing a paw comfortingly on his shaking shoulders. "It's alright, Raphael,"

I felt my son flinch at my gentle touch, and try to pull away. "No, it's not alright!" He shouted, his amber eyes glittering with tears and a pain I couldn't even begin to describe. "That cup was special; we gave it to you for Christmas. Hell, it was the only thing we _could_give you, and now look at it! I broke it, just like I break everything else!"

"Raphael, you must not think like that," I murmured, trying to calm my aggravated son. "It was an accident. Accidents happen all the time. I'm sure Donatello will be able to fix it."

"That's not the point," Raphael whispered hoarsely, his amber eyes fixed on what remained of the cup.

"Master Splinter? Is everything alright?" My eldest son asked anxiously

I turned to see Leo hovering in the doorway, his brow creased and his eyes shining with obvious concern.

"Leonardo," I said, slowly rising to my feet and holding my hand out for Raphael."I believe that it would be wise for all of you to get some air."

"Sensei?" Leo frowned in confusion as it wasn't common of me to suggest that my sons go up to the surface world.

"You have all been cooped up in the lair for a long time, perhaps too long. Take your brothers to get some air, Leonardo. Take care of them, and help Raphael,"

I could feel Raphael's amber eyes bore into me as I said that, but I knew it was the truth. It would be much easier if Leo left without Raphael, but I also knew that if Raphael stayed down here for much longer, a lot more was going to be broken than a cup.

* * *

_~Leonardo's POV~_

"I will, Sensei," Leonardo bowed his head respectively, though there was a small voice inside his head that was telling him not to go out tonight. It was telling him that if he and his brothers _did_go topside tonight, there would be someone there waiting for them.

But he didn't voice his doubts as he too saw the distress in Raphael's eyes. He only hoped that this time, the little voice inside his head was wrong.


	21. Chapter 21

**A/n: **A big, big. BIG thank you to my amazing beta, **Amonrapheonix **for beta-ing this chapter, even after all my sporadic periods of updating. Your input has been amazing and greatly appreciated!

* * *

-Chapter Twenty One-

Raphael was eager to leave and was impatiently tapping his fingers against his leg. It had been nearly three months now since he had last been outside the lair and the deprivation of starry nights, cool winds, and the sounds of New York City was starting to take its toll on him.

"Come on already," Raphael said irritably, already starting to hobble towards the door.

"We're coming, we're coming, hold your horses," Don sighed, appearing from his office with Mikey.

"Yeah dude, don't run off on us now," Mikey grinned impishly.

"Ha-ha, very funny," Raphael growled sarcastically. "And where's Leo? What's taking him so long?"

"Well, I thought you might need these," Leo's voice said from behind him.

"What are you-" Raphael broke off when he turned and saw Leo holding out his Sais to him in open palms. The metal gleamed like it had just been freshly polished and the red bands wrapped around the hilt looked newly replaced.

"I've been holding onto these for a while now," Leo explained, handing them to Raphael. "Well, just until you needed them again, that is." He amended.

Raphael took the proffered weapons; the feel of the cold blades was very comforting and felt just so right. It was like a part of him had been taken away and he hadn't even known it. But now, with his familiar weapons in his calloused hands again, it felt like that piece that had been missing, had been returned.

"Thank you," Raphael murmured gratefully, turning the Sais over in his hands tenderly before meeting Leo's eyes.

Leo smiled and clapped him lightly on the shoulder. "Come on, let's go topside."

* * *

It took a lot longer than it usually did, but finally, after thirty minutes of navigating through the sewers, they reached the surface. The journey, which usually only took ten minutes, was filled with snarls, muttered curses, frustration and pain. With the help of his brothers, Raphael was now perched on the ledge of a rooftop, his leg throbbing in painful agony. But despite the immense pain, Raphael was happier than he had been in at least three months. He had almost forgotten what New York City had looked like.

The sky was studded with stars that glowed like diamonds; a cool, refreshing, early spring breeze blew gently, rustling through the trees and rustling the tails of his mask. Down below, the city was lit up like a giant, multi-coloured Christmas tree. Cars lined the streets, and people filled the footpaths as they rushed to and fro. But from his position on the rooftop, it felt like Raphael was miles away.

"I know it isn't exactly forests and hills, but it's quite pretty," Leo said, breaking the silence.

"Yeah," Raphael agreed with a content hum. "A lot prettier than the sewers, that's for sure."

"Does it feel good to be back out here again?" Mikey asked.

"Definitely," Raph with a grin, "it feels…normal. I feel normal."

"So was it worth it, coming all the way out here?"

"Yes," Raph said without any hesitation. Despite all the pain and hassle his leg had caused, it was the most worthwhile thing he had done in months, and he didn't regret it at all.

"We should come out here more often," Mikey said. "It's nice to be outside without having to patrol or worry about the Foot or the world ending."

"That it is," Leo mused with a smile, before gently lowering himself into a sitting position next to Raphael.

"Say, Mikey, feel like a bit of rooftop-tag before we call it a night?" Donnie asked, having a feeling that Leo wanted to talk to Raph alone for a bit.

"Sure, last one to the next clothes line is a rotten egg!" Mikey yelled before racing off into the shadows, Don following quickly behind him.

"So?" Leo asked as soon as Mikey and Don had left.

"What is it Leo?" Raphael sighed, turning his head to look at his brother. "I can always tell when something is on your mind."

"You know me too well," Leo said with a sigh, turning to look out at the star-studded sky. There was a pause before he said; "Raphael…what happened that night?"

Raphael stiffened and glared angrily at Leo. "Can't you just let it be, Leo? I came out here to relax for once, not be asked questions and interrogated!"

"I'm not interrogating you, Raph; I just want to know what happened!" Leo shot back, trying to maintain his calm.

"What makes you think something happened anyway?" Raphael grumbled.

"I know how you ride, Raph; you don't just fall off your bike. Something must have happened."

"It was an accident okay? Simple as that," Raphael said firmly, his eyes showing clearly that the topic was closed.

Leo sighed in frustration but knew he wasn't going to get an answer out of Raphael tonight; though he was determined to get one eventually. Deciding to leave the topic for now, Leo sat in silence beside his brother.

A sudden sound made Leo and Raph turn their heads around. On the surrounding rooftops, dark, all too familiar shapes appeared.

"Damnit!" Leo hissed, jumping to his feet and unsheathing his swords. "I shouldn't have dropped my guard!"

"It's the Foot and the Purple Dragons!" Mikey yelled, racing towards then with Donnie on his heels.

The shapes started moving forward, and the unmistakable glint of steel flashed wickedly in the moonlight.

"Protect Raph!" Leo barked, moving to stand directly in front of his injured brother.

Raphael growled angrily from behind him. "I can protect myself," he said, trying to get to his feet.

The others ignored him and moved to form a protective semi-circle in front of him, weapons drawn and at the ready.

A group of fifty Purple Dragons and Foot ninjas moved into view, their stance menacing, weapons drawn.

"What do you want?" Leo demanded with a growl.

The Purple Dragon at the front of the group looked past Leo and locked his eyes on Raphael. "To finish what we started," he said with a cruel smirk.

Leo stiffened and felt a shiver race down his spine. Something wasn't right. Before he could put his finger on it, the Purple Dragons and the Foot attacked.

The turtles moved forward to meet the charge while trying to stay close enough to Raphael to protect him.

Raphael had managed to get to his feet and draw his Sais, but from the grimace of pain on his face, there was no way he was going to be able to fight, let alone defend himself.

Leo knew that the three of them could take thirty opponents on easily, but the problem lay with the combined forces of both the Purple Dragons and the Foot. This cooperation led Leo to question of why the Purple Dragons and the Foot were even working together. Leo had no time to think of a plausible explanation before he was surrounded by at least twenty Foot Ninjas and Purple Dragons.

Leo bared his teeth and fell into a familiar stance used in knocking down and disarming foes to the left and to right. What he didn't realize though, was that the Foot and Purple Dragons were luring him and his brothers further and further away from Raphael.

The sound of Raphael's pain filled cry echoed through the air, slicing through the sounds of battle. Leo froze, feeling the blood in his veins turn to ice. Whirling around, he saw a group of five Foot Ninjas quickly binding Raphael's hands behind his shell. A thin trail of blood ran down his face from a cut just above his eye, extremely close to his temple. His crutch had been discarded and thrown away, and he lay awkwardly on his side, trying to keep his weight off his bad leg and still try to fight off his assailants in his semi-conscious state.

The Foot started to drag Raphael across the rooftop, roughly jostling his bad leg and making him cry out in agonizing pain.

"Raph!" Leo roared, moving to help his brother. But before he could reach him, he felt a sudden intense pain in the back of his head as something hard and metal connected harshly with his skull.

The last thing he saw was his brother being dragged away before everything went black.

* * *

**A/n: **Dun, dun, dunnn! You really didn't think I would leave you all off with a happy chapter without suspense and action? Of course not! Hang onto your seats guys, and better strap in, from now on it's going to be a bumpy ride!

Feel free to leave a review; I'd love to hear what you think so far!

Until the next time,

~Cat


	22. Chapter 22

**A/n: A big thank you to Amonrapheonix for beta-ing!**

* * *

-Chapter Twenty Two-

Raphael's POV

Raphael awoke with a groan. His whole body felt as if it were on fire. The pain in his broken leg was immense; consuming him like a ragging inferno. His head pounded uncomfortably and his heart was beating painfully against his ribs. He felt like he was going to be sick, his stomach rolling uncontrollably while his body felt like it was made of lead.

As soon as he opened his eyes his world spun alarmingly and he quickly squeezed his eyes shut again. He felt so weak, the radiating pain from his leg was not only threatening to knock him back into the familiar and soothing world of unconsciousness, but also it sapped him of any strength he did have.

Despite all of this, something was strongly urging Raphael to open his eyes. He had the sinking feeling in his gut that something was very wrong, and no matter how hard he tried to ignore it, that little voice that was telling him to open his eyes just wouldn't shut up.

Ever so slowly, Raphael forced his eyes open the tiniest crack. Bright light flooded his vision, making him wince and snap eyes closed against the harsh light with a painful hiss.

However, the little voice would not be ignored. Stealing himself, Raphael forced his eyes open again, waiting for them to adjust.

Raphael found himself looking into a flickering florescent light hanging from a blindingly white ceiling. Taking his eyes away from the ceiling and looking around, he soon realized that he was in an unfamiliar small white roo. Pipes criss-crossed along the walls like thick metallic veins. Piled up in the far corner of the room were stacks of animal cages. Just to his left, trays filled with various sharp and pointy objects and equipment lay waiting; surgical tools, Raphael was sure of it. The room smelled of bleach and other sterile things.

Then with a jolt of horror, Raphael realized that he was strapped down onto a cold, hard, metal table.

"Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in."

Raphael froze in icy terror. That voice, it was so familiar; painfully familiar.

A tall man loomed over Raphael. He had dark hair, a pair of thin glasses perched on his nose, and was wearing a white lab coat. The smile on his face was contorted into a sadistic smirk.

_Bishop_

"Remember me?" Bishop asked with a grin, "Because I certainly remember you, Raphael."

"How did you get out?" Raphael growled, hating how raspy his voice sounded; how _weak_ it was. "We locked you up ourselves!"

"Ah, yes, quite an eventful night I must say," Bishop grinned. "As for how I got out, let's just say I have connections that were more than happy to pay my bail."

"You're a murder," Raphael snarled. "A filthy, cold-blooded murderer."

"Oh, but that was merely an unfortunate accident."

"You shot a man point blank in cold blood!" Raphael shouted in exasperation.

Bishop shrugged. "He was getting on my nerves. Like I said, an unfortunate accident."

"You're nothing more than a sick little sadistic man who feels big when he plays with tools." Raphael spat, his eyes narrowed to amber slits.

"And you're nothing more than a useless reptile playing dress-up as a wanna be human," Bishop shot back. "But not for too much longer. Soon you will be nothing but a useless _dead_ reptile."

"You wish," Raphael taunted in defiance.

"Oh I do, believe me. I often wish about it every hour actually."

"Are you going to just talk all day, 'cause you're really starting to irritate me," Raphael cut in sharply.

"Oh no, you are here for a purpose. You're here to tell me where the rest of your reptilian brothers are hiding, and the old rodent you call a father."

"No one talks about my family like that," Raphael snarled, his arms straining to loosen the bonds that held him tied down.

"And when you tell me," Bishop continued, ignoring him." Because you _will _tell me, I will destroy your home, and your so called family; then use your shells and your father's hide for lovely trophies to put up on my wall."

"Sorry to ruin it for ya', Pal, but I'm not telling you anything," Raphael growled.

"You say that now," Bishop said with a wicked grin, "but you don't know what fun games I have planned for you."

The sound of a door opening and closing shut cut off the sharp reply Raphael was about to deliver. Twin pairs of footsteps echoed over the floor, coming closer to where Raphael lay.

"Ah, Gentlemen," Bishop greeted with an oily smile. "So glad you could finally join us."

"Well, we couldn't miss out on this, could we."

Raphael froze. Icy shivers ran down his spine at the sound of that voice. Why was it so familiar?

Two faces loomed over Raphael, smirking down at him with sadistic glee.

Raphael couldn't suppress his gasp of realization. "You."

"Haha, I think he remembers us, Ryan,"

It was them; the Purple Dragon he had chased down the alleyway, and the Purple Dragon that had been waiting in the concealed truck. These two men in front of him were responsible for everything that had happened to him; falling off his bike, injuring him horribly and leaving him to die a slow agonizing death alone in the woods.

"You…you scum!" Raphael shouted in rage, trying desperately to free himself from his bonds.

"And to think we thought you had died," the second Purple Dragon laughed, the one known as Ryan. "Silly us."

"So what? You come back to finish the job, like the cowards that you are?" Raphael taunted.

"That would be telling, now wouldn't it?" Ryan grinned inhumanly.

A sharp, agonising pain radiated up from Raphael's bad leg. The pain made him cry out in agony. The pain was so sharp, so all consuming that he felt a hard wave of nausea roll through him, the acid biting at the back of his throat. He was going to be sick. His world spun as black spots danced before his eyes, causing him to believe that he was about to pass out.

"Interesting injury," Bishop mused, looking over the leg that he had just grabbed and jerked to get a closer look. "By the looks of it I'd say you were going at quite a speed. Your whole weight fell on this one leg, correct?"

"Fuck…you," Raphael gasped out, trying to focus on how to breathe through the pain.

"Looks like your brother did an acceptable job putting it back together again," Bishop continued. "Not a great job mind you, but I guess you turtles don't exactly have a lot of materials to work with. But I'm still impressed."

"Yeah, yeah, can we get on with it?" Ryan demanded impatiently.

"Oh yes, of course," Bishop smiled. "These boys have a little surprise for you, Raphael. Consider it becoming part of the family."

Raphael looked around wildly and froze when he saw the white-hot poker in Ryan's hands, shaped exactly like a Purple Dragon tattoo.

"Get that thing away from me!" Raphael yelled, struggling fiercely against his bonds.

"There ain't no way I'm having that filth branded onto me!"

"Juan, make sure he doesn't struggle too much," Ryan smirked, "don't want to ruin his new brand, now do we."

Bishop stood back as Juan moved over to Raphael, laying his big beefy hands over his arms to keep him still. Raphael struggled as Ryan came closer.

Raphael could hear the very air sizzle around the poker from the intense heat.

"Welcome to the Purple Dragons," Ryan said, laughing as he pushed the brand against Raphael's arm near the shoulder joint.

Raphael roared in excruciating agony, his voice echoing off of the room's plain white walls.


	23. Chapter 23

**A/n: **Oh my God...over 200 reviews...You guys are awesome! Thank you so much to everyone that has reviewed and favourite this story. It really means a lot to me, and I love knowing that you guys are enjoying reading this as much as I enjoy writing it! And a big, big, big thank you to **Amonrapheonix **for beta-ing.

* * *

-Chapter Twenty Three-

Leonardo's POV

Leo stared out at the New York City skyline, which hours ago had seemed so beautiful, now caused a putrid taste in his mouth. A blue hue tinged the sky, the first sign that dawn wasn't far off. A few stars still studded the sky, harder to see now and less radiant than before.

He was frozen, immobile. Not even the strongest of gales could have moved him than. His heart was lurching inside his chest, like he was on an out of control roller coaster ride, and was about to fall off the tracks at any moment. Tears stung his eyes, but he would not allow himself to shed them. He didn't have that right.

A warm hand rested on his shoulder, offering a comforting squeeze. Leo turned around to look into the eyes of his younger brother, moist with tears. Leo saw his brother try to compose himself and swallow the hard lump that had formed within his throat.

"We should go, Leo," Donnie whispered, eyes dropping to the cold ground under his feet. "We...we need to tell Master Splinter what happened."

Leo shook his head, fighting through the desperate need to fall to his knees and sob, like someone in high-rated drama sitcom. Instead, he pulled away from Don, moving further towards the ledge of the roof they were standing on.

"It's my fault," Leo whispered, his voice broken and unfamiliar.

"Leo..." Don started but was cut off.

"We lost him, Donnie. Again," Leo murmured, looking down at his hands. "We just got him back, now he's gone again."

"We _will_ find him, Leo," Don said firmly. "Just like we did before. We haven't lost him yet, Leo."

"Come on, Leo," Mikey spoke up, his orange mask stained wet with tears. "We have to tell Master Splinter."

"No," Leo shook his head firmly. "_I_need to tell Master Splinter. I was the one in charge of you all. I am the one to blame, and I must be the one to tell Sensei."

Preparing himself for what he had to do, Leo turned, and slowly, solemnly, headed back towards the lair, the absence of their missing brother hanging above their heads like a dark storm cloud.

* * *

Splinter was in the dojo when the turtles returned home, one short and solemn faced. Leo made a gesture for Don and Mikey to stay where they were, as he moved quietly towards the dojo. He stood in the shadows just outside the door, trying to prepare in his head how he was going to tell his father that he had lost a son, again.

Taking a deep breath, Leo pushed the door open and walked into the dojo, trying to remain as calm and as collected as he could. But as soon as his father turned around to face him, Leo lost his composure. A burning rage fuelled by guilt and despair washed over him like a wave. Unable to control this anger, this burning rage, Leo lashed out, furiously knocking over the stand of weights. Barbells of all sizes fell to the ground with a crash and rolled haphazardly around the room.

"Leonardo!" Master Splinter shouted, confused and shocked at his eldest son's behaviour he was displaying. Leonardo was never like this. Out of his four sons, Leonardo was always the calmest, even in the most stressful of situations. Never before had he lashed out in pure anger and grief like he had just done now.

"Kneel," Master Splinter commanded, folding his hands behind his back. He felt something in his chest drop when he saw the look on his son's face, and knew immediately that something bad had happened.

"We-we were on the roof," Leo was stammering, unable to form a coherent sentence as he dropped to his knees in front of his father. "We were distracted-talking-and-and it's my fault. I should have seen them coming..."

"Leonardo, you are the leader of this family, and because of that, you always bear the world's problems on your shoulders. You are a protector of others, as your position entitles, but you must realize that at times, though you are the leader of this family, sometimes, you too, need to feel protected as well. You are highly skilled and loyal to your fault. These are the merits of a great leader, but only when tempered with understanding and humility."

"But Sensei...I messed up big tonight," Leo whispered, unable to look his father directly in the eye. "They took him."

"Raphael..." Master Splinter felt his heart stop as Leo carefully placed Raphael's Sais on the ground in front of him.

Master Splinter closed his eyes, taking several slow, deep breaths to keep his emotions in check. Slowly opening his eyes, he looked down at his grieving son.

"Then our time for hiding is over," he said firmly. "We must return to the surface, and reclaim what is ours."

* * *

**A/n: **I apologise for the shortness of this chapter; it's more of a filler than anything else. Next chapter _will _be longer, and I guarantee, a lot more interesting! Did you notice this is like a reversal to the film? Haha, it's suppose to be that way!

Feel free to leave a review; I'd love to hear what you thought.

~Cat


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